Elections Are Necessary, Their Integrity Imperative, Even Amid a Pandemic

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In The Media

Elections Are Necessary, Their Integrity Imperative, Even Amid a Pandemic

Voting is not the same as going to a pub or a party or even a political rally; it is not a form of recreation, it is an essential task to the preservation of our democracy. And like other essential tasks, it must continue.

By Dan Baer

Published on Mar 16, 2020

Source: Denver Post

As the response to coronavirus belatedly but increasingly spreads across the country, Americans are having to make choices about what is essential and what activities are better postponed or canceled.

One feature of democracies is that they have regular elections. Once the rules and timing of elections are set, it is reasonable to be skeptical about changes because any change is likely to impact the number of votes cast or the number of votes cast for particular candidates, whether the change is intended to do so or not. There must be a high threshold for altering the schedule and conduct of elections because the integrity and confidence in the electoral process is part of the legitimacy of the government that it produces...

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This article was originally published in the Denver Post.

About the Author

Dan Baer

Senior Vice President for Policy Research, Director, Europe Program

Dan Baer is senior vice president for policy research and director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Under President Obama, he was U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and he also served deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Recent Work

Commentary
NATO’s Northeast Countries Have a Template for Europe’s New Security Reality
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Testimony
“Supporting Armenia’s Democracy and Western Future”
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Political Reform Democracy North America United States

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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