Ross Burkhart, a professor of political science in the School of Public service, was interviewed for a report broadcast in Kazakhstan on the topic of the possible modification or postponement of the upcoming U.S. presidential election given the current COVID-19 pandemic.
With the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic growing in the U.S., Burkhart noted that the possibility was extremely remote that the presidential election would be postponed, since the U.S. has conducted elections during adverse conditions such as wartime. However, with rapidly changing conditions already affecting the presidential primaries, it is hard to speak with any certainty about the mechanics of the presidential election more than half a year away, with the full extent of the pandemic being unknown. There could be modifications on how voting takes place, for instance making it be a more remote process, though this would be no easy task.
The interview, “American Professor Discusses Possibility of Postponing the Presidential Elections,” was broadcast Friday, March 20. Burkhart’s remarks are translated into Russian.