2020 was unprecedented in a number of ways. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped all aspects of
life and the high-profile presidential election was no exception. For VPC/CVI, large-scale program
planning—such as voter registration—were well underway by early 2020, and the arrival of the
pandemic came as an external shock that dramatically reshaped the organization’s strategy.
Specifically, the pandemic brought three issues to the foreground:

1. Deep concerns that people would not vote in-person due to health risks;
2. Worry that voters would not understand new, and rapidly changing, voting procedures;
3. The possibility that the election system would buckle under stress (e.g., a lack of poll workers and closed polling places limiting voting options across the country)