In 2020, it could have been, no one got sick and politics is the center of the universe. The Democratic Party has just named Joe Biden and his colleagues running at its mid-July convention in Milwaukee, while Republicans Donald Trump prepare in Charlotte, North Carolina renominate his usual rallies, shows Trump economy roaring, his case do to re-election, stir with his call for a return to normal during Biden fighting masses. continue to promote Trump conspiracy theories allies on complications in Ukraine Biden family, whatever desperate Democrats pushing for a second impeachment in the House. Both sides make publicity wild across the country, millions of doors to knock on voters turn out in November. But in 2020, which it takes place in reality, the COVID-19 all-pandemic to change how it is conducted the campaign as you choose what we value. And ‘canceled conferences, and fundraising campaigns for the digital world, exiled, and many were forced to quickly change how people and submit their ballots, with unpredictable and potentially catastrophic consequences. The acute crisis should lead the nation’s attention has focused new issues such as public health and economic and racial inequality to the fore and asked to rethink the public, what features they want in their leaders. For four years, Trump has been the dominant force and inevitable, not only national policy, but also of American life. Now he finds himself as the central figure in his campaign shifted from a disease that answers to no timetable, ideology or political objective. Just as the office so viruses relationship where adults and children go to school to ask the head of entire industrial sectors has changed in the process, it stimulated a massive shift in the basic instrument of American democracy as we elect the President, the final destruction pandemic is calculated prevail to deal with its consequences and the nation design rising from the ashes. It acted like so many other changes made by the crown, the practice of American politics can never be the same again. This would always be high-stakes re-election campaign of a gap-President historian at a crucial time for the nation, a referendum on his standard movement to which side of a political spectrum polarized occupy an unusual style competition and evidence of disruptive vision of its widespread opposition it is the mainstream. While the campaign reaches its final stretch three months, Trump trails badly in national surveys and give Battlefield State as Americans his sad handling of the pandemic failed grade. But the end of the turbulent Trump term will be written by the virus. It surprised us hanging with his rise and spread in January and February, a normal life in March and April and lulled into complacency many before us once again with its revival in June and July whipsawing. Who knows what kind of surprise in October, you can have in Serbia? Like most things these days presidential politics set in a way to get a bit ‘weird. For example, on Facebook a recent Thursday night, Donald Trump Jr. with the former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka aging about childhood physical abuse is to decant. “Maybe a couple of children in this country need to bite a bit ‘more ass whoopin’ as participation medals!” Says Trump Jr., wearing a purple polo shirt and open collar AirPods. Ditka, cocked the phone up towards the brush mustache, looks confused. “How can you tell?” he replied. “These poor children.” The show, podcast, a rate of Trump Jr. Triggered, embodies the content of the campaign supporters Trump online feed hungry. Another recent evening, home to praise “The Right View” in which Trump Jr. girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump and Trump’s wife Lara aides Mercedes floppy countryside and Katrina Pierson unmasked hydroxychloroquine virtue as COVID treatment in a segment that eventually accumulate more than half a million are on Facebook viewpoints. The campaign was to create such online content, but it is to be re-centralize risk events in a world where superspreader rally. Sign up to get covered for TIME newsletter for exclusive story behind TIME Cover. The Biden campaign has also moved online, where his presence as their quieter candidate, and it is traditional. “Event” will be advertised in local supporters and organized by groups of voters or arguments, as they would in a normal campaign. Biden’s wife Jill appears on zoom, with a “stop virtual campaign” with the mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida, to talk about his plans for the elderly. former candidate for governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams online guest “racial and economic justice roundtable” with entrepreneurs in Detroit; Biden joins his former running mate, Barack Obama, for a theater 15 minutes of “conversation” about the administration’s failures Trump. Despite Trump pandemic had hoped to keep the central gatherings in his political mythology. But an attempt to return to the stage in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20 in a service debacle., With a sparse, mostly unmasked amount that barely covers the floor of the indoor arena full. Lately he has for the line “tele-rally”, conference calls glorified located that Trump supporters vote in key states are invited to a couple of times a week. During a recent targeted voters in Maine and New Hampshire, candidates Trump shouts local Republicans dutifully, price lobster fishing and vows to get tough on Canadian currency manipulation. Nearly 13,000 people listen to live, and hundreds of thousands will end up “view” of the half-hour audio stream. “The future of our nation will be defined by patriots who love our country and want to build and make it bigger and better and stronger and that will be defined by the radical left. And usually radical Left Democrats of the Left are extremists who hate our country, “he intones. Personally this would draw a roar of Trump crowds of admirers of the line, but online, the only feedback is the silent roll of Facebook comments. Trump political adviser Jason Miller says the tele-gathering was a success. “The genius of Donald Trump, one-to-one relationship with his constituents who knows how to promote and build,” he says. But virtual meetings are clearly not a substitute for the real thing. In the absence of her usual source of mass adulation the president took to the crowds of peddling that line the streets when he visited activities in several states. Some local candidate against Republican hold all the events still in person despite the risks. But the pandemic has been for a partisan attack vector. If a candidate GOP take of themselves posted no political event in Virginia Senate mask inside a video, the state took the PD image to call it “irresponsible dangerous.” Many state Democratic parties have chosen to keep all virtual conventions, but some of their colleagues have tried before the GOP of tracks. The Republican Party of Texas has his case to the state Supreme Court, which sided with the mayor of Houston, the person-in-Convention had canceled his. The virtual confab hastily assembled, complete technical difficulties-followed marked a point of Texas Monthly reported pranksters placed online planning document “Peepeepoopoo” the program and, in the end, delegates added furious, located throughout the Country Chairman. It ‘was at the national level a similar story. Democrats decided early that the expected convention in July in Milwaukee would not be possible; It has been postponed to mid-August and radically scaled down to be with the delegates at home and vote remotely and Biden also stay away. The GOP has a bumpy road. In June, Trump has pulled the Convention Charlotte, N.C., in Jacksonville, Fla., In a pique over the insistence of the Democratic governor of North Carolina at security protocols. As Florida COVID-19 has increased the number of cases this summer, party officials made a number of adjustments in a frantic last gasp the festival culminates in an outdoor stadium in the August heat to maintain. Finally, in late July Trump announced the program would have scotched Jacksonville; the current plan, which is still under development is to keep a small number of party meetings in North Carolina and the appointment of the President is determined with a televised speech at one point accepted. The lack of traditional conventions is perhaps not such a loss. Events where actually once ingested insiders of the party in rooms full of smoke and presidential candidate running colleagues have, in modern times, a little ‘more than infomercials. But they serve as the main engine of fund other operations collection parts is moved at the age of online Crown. The business snob cooking that donors once paid tens of thousands of dollars to attend the plate are now live BYOB flows. They have had campaigns like the fading novelty of being creative. “If the work of stay-at-home began, campaigns are events to virtual-zoom collecting funds immediately began an organizing field Hangout,” says Brian Krebs, the Democrat in a digital campaign now works interactively called Rising Tide. “But the bar is now that a lot of people magnified. You have a special guest, or some sort of hook. People will not show up when it comes to talking only 12 seats.” On the other hand, prominent guests it may be easier to land when one of your fundraiser without the Texas democratic Senate candidate MJ LA detector registers recently Hegar may appear physically event with the cast of Supernatural and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, none of whom were present. Hegar campaign volunteers got creative with their field of action, a session to maintain SMS voter registration, doubling listening as Taylor Swift participants. About to move at this time in an election campaign traditionally identified by the registration and to convince voters push them to vote. The GOP continues to do, knock on a million doors a week, claims the Republican National Committee. But on the left, it has an intense debate about the ethics in the midst of a plague going door to door route. Studies show that in personal meetings with voters are the most effective way to turn out for them. But most liberal groups and the campaign plan Biden, do not knock on the door this year, see for both workers and voters as too risky. A group that has forged ahead, Soft progressive project has to suspend its activities in a dozen states, after several employees tested positive for COVID-19 The irony is, most Americans are enthusiastic about this year for commitment politic. In a Fox News poll in July, 85%, said they or very motivated to extreme voice, and the percentage of respondents who said the Gallup, were enthusiastic than usual about voting 10 points increased in 2016. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, primary voting states like Texas and Georgia has established the course record. At the same time, new voter registrations decreased due to the closure of government agencies such as the departments of motor vehicles. In Pinal County, Arizona, called a small progressive organization of rural Arizona engagement only a quarter of the way of his voter registration destination came when it stops on March acquisition had. Work Attempts by phone at were mostly unsuccessful. Although Arizona is currently a hot spot crown, the group hopes to go on the field to round vote back. “We feel like we can follow [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and our employees in a train way to protect them and the people we talk to, which is a year to do this job requires,” the group says co-CEO Natali Fierros Bock. The pandemic, he says, has increased awareness of the issues because they vote of the people has increased. (E ‘also an increase touts success rate. Isolated With so many people in their homes, are ready, the door and talk to an unknown response) Despite strong public support for the use of masks, the board of supervisors Pinal County has decided against mask the mandate for the company and the county sheriff inducement Mark Lamb, did not give the status of the order stay-at-home force. (Lamb has canceled an appearance scheduled with Trump at the White House when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in June.) “People, the starting points for the connection,” Fierros Bock says, “and consider that local, in these offices serving and how much power they exercise. “pandemic ended the season of primary elections in the middle of America, forcing adapted state election officials in flight. The results offer a view of the great challenges of the general election will put and disasters that may arise. One of the first test races in Ohio came when the primary was on March 17 a few days provided after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, the NBA abruptly suspended its season and states across the country quickly closed began. When the Republican governor Mike DeWine tried to delay the primary, some candidates and courts sued decided it had no power to do so. Finally, start setting up at 4:00 on election day with workers already on the ballot, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the medical director of the State may order the closure of the polls as an emergency measure. But the GOP controlled legislature would not move with DeWine proposal together for the vote until June, so that only an election post for a term 28.en place in April instead. Other states have soon its experience with complex logistics, constitutional and political vote of the pandemic. In Wisconsin, April 7 mainly held as scheduled after a last minute deadlock between his Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers in hundreds of polling stations were forced to close when electoral officials fear fell to demonstrate their safety. Hundreds of thousands of voters have turned out to be social spaced lines for hours to vote. (A scientific study later choosing linked 19 cases COVID to an increase, even if others do not agree with this assessment.) Georgia 9 primary in June amid short the human technical problems and loose, resulting in endless lines and significant disenfranchisement that Democrats had loaded a deliberate attempt by GOP officials to suppress the vote. In New York, a state almost completely selected as the person rule, accusing election officials an unprecedented flow of absentee ballots for the fact that more than a month after the elections on June 23, have not yet decided in some competitions has explained. In any case, the Crown suggested in a system that was already fragile. “It ‘s a mistake to think that the pandemic as something separate from other problems with our electoral system,” says Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine. “It ‘interacts with the existing pathology to make things worse.” Hare’s latest book, Meltdown Election was released on February 4, the day after the catastrophic Democratic Iowa caucus, the delayed results illustrated the problems of balky election without global infrastructure capable of producing epidemic. Many countries that for decades were administered in person election, are now trying to Swing Vote E-mail, so that people can vote by mail without an excuse or citing COVID-19 as a legitimate medical reason. But not all. In June, the US Supreme Court denied a democratic process that all the voters of Texas to allow Checked mail cards to choose from. In Georgia, the GOP has sent Secretary of State every voter ballot application for the primaries, but it is not for the general election do. “I think it’s because it was historic turnout, especially among Democratic primary voters and [Republicans] do not want to stand in the general election,” said NSE ufot, CEO of Project New Georgia. Some states, including California, Nevada and Vermont, will mail ballots to all voters, joining existing five states with universal electronic vote. Many others will all voters voting by mail application to be sent, but experts warn that can not be prepared for the flood that is coming. Stamp, stamp and notarization requirements or witnesses vary from state to state. compared US budget crunches induced pandemic are not necessarily able to pay for protective equipment and millions of stamps, but Congress has allocated only a fraction of the election financing required. The postal service of the United States, is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, is ill-equipped to handle the increase, and Democrats say the agency entrusted popular recently allies to Trump, may deliberately send in urban areas for the president to contribute to slow down. States continue to voting procedure to postpone the vote, as it approaches, making it difficult for voters to keep track of what is required. What electoral experts fear most it is that all these challenges and changes could be the result cast into doubt. Apart from one night of the outbreak elections to count probably end without a clear winner, and it could take weeks or months until all the votes. “What you do not see in the primary, even in the presence of confusion and it took weeks, someone had tampered with the election called or stolen,” says Aditi Juneja, a lawyer, an employee of the bipartisan National Task Force for the electoral crisis. “We want to make sure that happens in the general election. If the result is unclear or uncertainly that leaves room for bad actors wild accusations.” This, of course, is exactly what he did Trump. Continue eardrums strike began in 2016, doubt President Trump has launched several times on the legitimacy of the vote, “rigged”. Mistakenly that electronic voting is not secure and that his choice claiming there is a difference between the e-mail item, which refers to all voters to mail in general ballots and absentee ballots when voters usually for to apply for a vote. But experts say that in terms of security, no difference. Trump attacked Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic Secretary to go to the State of Michigan, “rogue” if they took primary step many of their GOP colleagues on the state election absent applications by mail. “It is not helpful when false or misleading information mudslinging and partisan rhetoric are injected in the speech,” said Benson TIME. “And ’cause people have doubts about the sanctity of the process and the validity of their vote. The truth is that we work every day to make it easier to make the vote and harder to cheat.” On July 30, Trump has proposed to postpone the presidential elections, called on both an immediate outcry from Republicans and Democrats. “The concern has increased the president, are in the state of Ohio is invalid,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, tells TIME. “Both political parties in Ohio have our system for years and strict family 20 Labor voters to get the advantage to accept e-mail from voting.” As for the choice to move: “This is not something we should also consider”, he says. election experts both parties fear that Trump perishable campaign to undermine confidence in the integrity of elections is to accept an excuse to reject the result if he loses to throw the country into constitutional crisis or worse. If a bipartisan group of academics and former officials of the integrity of recent transition project called war gamed contested election produced each iteration of the exercise “is to street level violence and political stalemate,” the organizing group, a professor at Georgetown Law Rosa Brooks , said the Boston Globe. If the reality of the pandemic began to put Trump’s approval rating rose first, as often happens to the president in times of crisis. The percentage of Americans who Trump-cheap reached runtime within a narrow band for its entire 46% at the end of March was the highest since he took office, he kept after the electoral average FiveThirtyEight. Then he began to fall. Today only 40% approve performance Trump, while nearly 55% disapprove. Americans now disapprove of a margin of 20 points of its management of the pandemic. Biden holds significant leads in key battlegrounds as Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan. States such as Texas, Arizona and Georgia, the Democrats can not be achieved at the level of the president in decades to win so far. Many top Republicans are concerned that their candidates in a Wipeout are up and down the vote. “The breadth and depth of Trump weakness is difficult to overestimate,” says Democratic pollster Margie Omero, a member of the research team Navigator, more than 24,000 Americans surveyed on rolling basis since March. “There’s a little ‘rally-round-the-flag to people that start they wanted was to be successful and then, when it was clear that he did not take it seriously, you could see that change.” The truth was an unusually weak Trump established long before the stroke of a pandemic, the only president ever in Gallup approval regular monitoring of the 50% mark up. His current rating is higher than its lowest point of 35% in August 2017 after the violent white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. current eight points Democrats on the electoral General card is about the same as his margin in the national vote in the 2018th Biden has an advantage over Trump, posting similar margins or higher since before entering the race in a manner consistent with the current state surveys. Much of the American electorate appears to review the president soon, he and his party leave and never look back and have formed. The indicators that usually related to the looming political fortunes, as the economy can not be applied this year, says GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini. The situation is simply too abnormal. Many see the pandemic as a fluke by China has acted, and may be receptive to the argument that the economic pain is not the fault of the president. Trump is also the emergency legislation of popular economic emergency benefit Democrats enact helped him. “It can unite behind its leaders in a crisis when the country that things are moving, at least in the right direction the feeling,” said Ruffini. “The case of the summer peak appeared from the President, that the possibility of breakage. It ‘s still a chance to prove that things have turned the corner on November 1, but time is very short run.” COVID-19 has changed the choice content distinctive way. Optimism has nosedived: the percentage of people who believe the United States was on track to 20 points from March. The pandemic has brought new urgency to issues such as access to health care, inequality and social safety net, while Trump favorite themes of immigration and steering the image negotiate. “Voters are basically the same, but the context of the elections in 2020 has changed,” said UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavreck, author of Identity Crisis: The 2016 presidential campaign and fight for the meaning of America. defects Trump nature frame suddenly largest for voters. “Not necessarily something change in her life-‘I wish he would stop chirping, but the good economy ‘For a long time, it was annoying, but it does,” said Lanae Erickson, senior vice president of the center-left think tank Third Way, polls and focus groups thousands of voters reported in suburban swing in order. “What this has done is the perception that they put up with real, terrible effect on them and their families and countries over Trump already had together.” When asked an open question on Trump’s vision for the country, about half of those in the third way voluntarily “selfish surveys” or “divisions.” respondents also rejected his demands for “law and order” in response to street protests. Asked wounded Trump Vision, 30% of voters undecided village is said “all of us.” It would be “Previously, people say LGBT or women or people of color,” says Erickson. “Now, 4% of immigrants say 6% minorities were, but 30% of all we say.” Some focus group participants were asked what they look for in the elections. The answers were heavy on leadership: people wanted someone who was strong, compassionate and listened to experts. People agree that Trump was strong (provided and questioned the strength to Biden), but President abysmally on the other two evaluated. As Trump worst features were magnified, the strengths of Biden suddenly seem right at the time. When he announced his candidacy a year ago, he said he was forced to run from the ambiguous answer to Trump in Charlottesville. It is criticized some Democratic mantra of a “struggle for the soul of the nation”, as well as swollen or wanders into a time when ambitious than its rivals pumping proposals leftist policies. But a campaign based on character tinged with nostalgia, now seems not only prescient, but essential if you believe that Biden has what it takes to deliver on it. Trump campaign explains that it is positioned for the win despite headwinds. Public Republicans count surveys, says Miller, a political adviser to Trump, and supporters of the president are excited to be a fair ratio of 2-to-1. “People for two hours to vote in line for someone who is not excited?” ask me. But analysts in both parties are skeptical. “Overwhelmingly, voters believe that the pandemic and the economic crisis that results are the main problems of the country,” said GOP pollster Whit Ayres. “The efforts, the subject may change work with people who are already for the president, but there is no evidence that they work with people who need to be brought into his coalition if he will win.” If the pandemic, the turmoil he revealed in American society, but also exposed to anything else: some things are too important not to get caught up in politics. Trump tries to make a partisan issue public health often failed. The vast majority of Americans support their pandemic were limits, I believe it is important to curb the virus to get up and running when the economy, I think it needs more support and mask margin carries echoes. The national mood has undergone a wholesale change in this most turbulent of election years. In the third way is studying voters about the feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety and fear of speaking. Pollsters response rates skyrocketing because so many lonely people are related just to answer the phone at home to talk to someone. America is a divided nation, but also one that aspires of community and solidarity. When a black man was brutally murdered on video by Minneapolis police, the people what was the number dropped like never on the road. Three-quarters of Americans said that they have obtained the latest protests justice races, and support for the black movement screw concerned increased significantly, such as political observers to stun. It ‘hard to do this without Trump imagine. But it’s hard, it is not COVID-19 also conceivable. As one day the Americans look back on this scourge, the campaign has been an integral part of the story is. Wars, depressions, natural disasters: the US held elections in difficult circumstances before. Whenever the face of difficulties, we agreed on schedule; each time democracy has given us the opportunity to decide how we want to learn from the crisis. -With reporting by Mariah ESPADA and ABBY correction VESOULIS August 6 The original version of this story false information, the position of the celebrity guests to a virtual event MJ Hegar. Although they were not physically present, some of them were in Texas. This appears in the August 17, 2020 issue of time illustration image copyright by Joan Wong for TIME. Getty Images (4), Redux, AP
As amended COVID-19 all about the elections 2020
