Coronavirus Conversations: Elections and The Pandemic

Friday June 26, 2:30 PM (EDT)

Read Our Policy Brief On Elections And The Pandemic

COVID-19 presents major challenges for the US election process. Measures necessary to protect the public and prevent the spread of the virus, like shelter-in-place orders, quarantine and self-isolation, and fear of infection will keep many Americans away from polling places in the fall. In-person voters must navigate lines and indoor voting locations that traditionally place people in close proximity, and interact with high-touch surfaces, to exercise their right to vote. Poll workers, who are traditionally older and therefore more at risk, are now in short supply. The act of voting itself has the ability to spark new rounds of contagion. Constructive policy solutions are needed to protect public health and the right to vote, especially for members of minority and lower socio-economic groups, who have already been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Join Duke Science & Society and our panel of experts in a discussion of how our election process is affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and what we must do to meet these challenges.

Panelists :

Professor Guy-Uriel Charles, J.D. Edward and Ellen Schwarzman Professor of Law, Duke University School Of Law

Dr. Anupam B. Jena, M.D, Ph.D. Ruth L. Newhouse Associate Professor of Health Care Policy, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Associate Professor of Medicine and Assistant Physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Martha E. Kropf, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration; Professor Public Policy Program, UNC-Charlotte

Moderator:

Dr. Nita Farahany, J.D., PhD, Director, Duke Initiative For Science & Society; Professor of Law and Philosophy, Duke University

Have an idea for a future Coronavirus Conversation?

Coronavirus Conversations: A new, virtual event series from Duke Science & Society

As we practice social distancing, engage in online learning, and work remotely we are burdened with questions about how this pandemic is affecting our lives, the lives of those we love, and the society we are a part of. Over the course of this event series faculty and staff from Duke Science and Society will join academics, lawmakers, students, researchers, doctors, and others to shed some light on the events happening around us and what life will start to look like moving forward.

We will have moderated, casual lunch-time discussions with brief Q&A held via Zoom chat.