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The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 U.S. Election
- Journal of Democracy
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 32, Number 2, April 2021
- pp. 159-178
- 10.1353/jod.2021.0026
- Article
- Additional Information
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Abstract:
The 2020 election was both a miracle and a tragedy. In the midst of a pandemic posing unprecedented challenges, local and state administrators pulled off a safe, secure, and professional election. This article discusses metrics of success in the adaptations that took place—record-high turnout, widespread voter satisfaction, a doubling of mail voting without a concomitant increase in problems often associated with absentee ballots, and the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of new poll workers. However, a competing narrative of a "stolen election" led to a historically deep chasm between partisans in their trust of the election process and outcome.