Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources

Election officials are contingency planners by nature and are continually working to make sure elections are accessible, secure, and accurate, and that voters are safe. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) understands election officials and voters may have questions and concerns regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. As part of our clearinghouse function, we are working with federal partners and election officials to compile and offer resources. 

The EAC recommends regularly visiting state and local election websites for the most up-to-date election information. 

We plan to update information and add examples of resources to this page as they become available.  

If you are an election official, voting system manufacturer, or other election stakeholder, and would like to submit resources to be considered for this page, please email [email protected].

State-Specific Resources

Arizona

Arizona Secretary of State

• Press Release: SOS recommends requesting an early ballot by today’s deadline (3.6.2020) – This press release includes recommendations to voters about the upcoming primary with information about requesting a ballot by mail, and how the Secretary of State and other state offices are coordinating to ensure COVID-19 does not interrupt the election.

• Press Release: Arizona election officials update response to COVID-19 (3.11.2020) - This follow-up release explains the Secretary of State's additional guidance to counties as a result of new developments in the state response to COVID-19 including additional precautions for voting locations at senior centers and other facilities frequented by seniors.
   

North Carolina

North Carolina State Board of Elections

• Press Release: Statement on COVID-19 Response (3.12.2020) - This release includes information on how the State Board is monitoring developments of COVID-19 and preparing for upcoming elections, including coordinating with federal and state partners. It also reminds voters of their options to cast a ballot. 

Ohio 

Ohio Secretary of State

• Corona Facts – This page provides on how the Secretary of State’s office is coordinating with county boards of elections and how they are preparing and protecting voters leading up to Election Day.

• Actions Taken by Secretary LaRose – This page outlines the steps the Secretary of State’s office has taken to promote a safe and healthy environment for Ohioans as they go to the polls.

South Carolina

South Carolina State Election Commission

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates – This page includes updates on the coronavirus (COVID-19) from the South Carolina Election Commission includes the announcement that March and April elections will be postponed due to coronavirus, a statement on coronavirus and March candidate filing, and a general statement from the Election Commission on coronavirus.

Federal Resources

GCC and SCC

Lessons Learned from the 2020 Primary  – This document combines the lessons learned documents broken out by topic available here. It covers resource allocation, building requirements, preparing for increased absentee or mail ballots, crisis plans, and communicating with the public through public relations and the media.

In-Person Voting

• Innovative Practices and New Solutions Guide

• Finding Voting Locations and Poll Workers

• Considerations for Modifying the Scale of In-Person Voting

• Health and Safety at the Polling Place

• Safeguarding Staff and Work Environment from COVID-19

Voting By Mail/Absentee Voting

• The Importance of Accurate Voter Data When Expanding Absentee or Mail Ballot Voting

• Election Education and Outreach for Increased Absentee or Mail Voting

• Electronic Ballot Delivery and Marking

• Helping Voters to Request a Mail-in Ballot

• Managing an Increase in Outbound Ballots

• Inbound Ballot Process

• Ballot Drop Box

• Signature Verification and Cure Process

• Vote By Mail/ Absentee Voting Timeline – Excel and PDF  

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

• CDC Considerations for Election Polling Locations and Voters CDC and EAC (pdf)- This CDC guidance includes recommendations for election officials and poll workers, recommendations on maintaining healthy environments and operations, and recommendations for voters. This information is also available on the CDC's website. Note: election officials should consult their vendors regarding recommendations on cleaning and other matters specific to election technology used in their polling locations. Some vendor-provided guidance is below.  

• CDC Situation Summary webpage – This page provides updated information and guidance on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

• CDC Coronavirus index webpage – This page provides links to all CDC resources on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

• CDC List of State and Territorial Health Department Websites – This page provides links to all websites of state and territory health departments, which the CDC recommends consulting for state-specific information on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

• CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), February 2020 - This interim guidance for businesses may be relevant to election offices. It seeks to help prevent workplace exposures to acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19.

Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA)

• CISA Coronavirus webpage - This page provides information on CISA’s efforts with federal partners concerning coronavirus and COVID-19 and links to other federal resources.

• CISA Insights: Risk Management for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) – This brief provides recommendations on how to address physical supply chain and cyber security issues that may arise from the spread of the novel coronavirus. This resource is helpful for election officials to prepare for possible impacts of the novel coronavirus. Below is an excerpt from this CISA Insights brief.

  • Cybersecurity for Organizations

    • As organizations explore various alternate workplace options in response to COVID-19, CISA recommends examining the security of information technology systems by taking the following steps:

      • Secure systems that enable remote access.

      • Ensure Virtual Private Network and other remote access systems are fully patched.

      • Enhance system monitoring to receive early detection and alerts on abnormal activity.

      • Implement multi-factor authentication

      • Ensure all machines have properly configured firewalls as well as anti-malware and intrusion prevention installed.

      • Test remote access solutions capacity or increase capacity

      • Ensure continuity of operations plans or business continuity plans are up-to-date.

      • Increase awareness of information technology support mechanisms for employees who work remotely.

      • Update incident response plans to consider workforce changes in a distributed environment.

U.S. Postal Service

• USPS Statement on Coronavirus 

  • This statement from the U.S. Postal Service released March 4, 2020 may be helpful to voters who participate by mail, including military and overseas voters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• Pandemic Influenza Continuity of Operations Annex Template - This template from FEMA provides guidance to assist organizations in developing a Pandemic Influenza Continuity of Operations plan or, if the organization already has a continuity plan, a Pandemic Influenza Annex. General guidance and sample information is provided for reference and organizations are encouraged to tailor Pandemic Influenza Continuity plans to meet specific organizational needs and requirements. The template contains elements of a viable continuity plan and allows organizations to insert information as deemed appropriate. 

• Note: The EAC is planning to establish a working group with election officials to help populate this template to better assist state election officials and others.

Election Assistance Commission (EAC)

• Tips for Empowering Voters with Disabilities in the 2020 General Election and COVID-19 Crisis (HTML) – As new election procedures are implemented in the states and localities, this document provides recommendations to election officials on meeting accessibility requirements. PDF version

• Preliminary Planning for Increased Vote By Mail – Video

  • Presentation – Preliminary Planning for for Increase Vote By Mail, Interview 1: COVID 19 potential response

• EAC Disaster Preparedness and Recovery webpage – This page features presentations from election administrators about how they conducted elections in the face of a variety of natural disasters. Their examples of preparedness and recovery could be helpful for election officials as they address the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

• EAC Contingency Plans Webpage – In preparation for the 2016 elections, the EAC collected continuity of operations plans (COOPs) and resources from election officials at the state and local levels. This includes state-specific examples for H1N1 flu preparedness.

• EAC Election Management Guidelines Chapter 11: Contingency Planning and Change Management - This 2008 resource was created to assist state and local election officials in effectively managing and administering elections. Each chapter explores a different aspect of election administration and provides examples and recommendations. 

Other Resources

National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)

• Issue Briefing – Election Emergencies and COVID-19 – NASS developed this page to provide a general overview of state policies on this topic, as well as an update on efforts by election officials to deal with potential issues posed specifically by COVID-19. The briefing page includes answers to questions about election administration in emergency situations overall, information on current COVID-19 monitoring and measures by election officials, state press releases regarding COVID-19 responses, additional COVID-19 related resource webpages, and other information.

National Association of State Election Directors

• COVID-19 Resources – NASED has collected resources that may be helpful for election officials as they contemplate changes to their election processes in light of the COVID-19 health emergency.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

• COVID-19 and Elections – NCSL does not recommend legislative changes or provide opinions on policy options, but instead gathered policy option ideas that have been considered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on this page. The page includes information and links on election emergency statutes, contingency planning, options to cast a ballot in addition to polling places, provisional ballot laws, and other information.

• Election Emergencies — Statutes relating to election emergencies vary by state, and this NCSL resource offers a summary and further details on these state-specific statutes.