Many are looking to in-person voting alternatives already used on smaller scales to address the challenges of holding an election during the Covid-19 pandemic. Online or mobile app voting is allowed on a limited basis in several states. Voatz is a mobile voting app that has been used in 50 elections since 2016, with more than 80,000 votes cast. The company uses blockchain to encrypt the data and has offered to discuss the free use of its software for the 2020 presidential election. Experts caution the possibility of cyber-attacks as well as the difficulty of widely implementing new technologies so quickly.

The coronavirus pandemic swept the nation at a time when many would be going to polling stations to cast their votes in primary elections, but vote-at-home practices are providing a solution for this civic inconvenience. Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and now Utah have all implemented statewide all-mail election campaigns that not only improve voter turnout, but also cost less to taxpayers than only relying on in-person polling booths.

As one of the most consequential presidential elections in the United States approaches in the midst of a pandemic, many Americans are worried about voter turnout, and other logistical concerns. But a simple answer exists: voting by mail. With tens of millions of people in the United States already routinely voting by mail, proponents tout the additional time for research voters can take and the potential for higher voter turnout as added benefits.

Common Power has over 2,000 volunteers, mostly white retirees, who reach out to voters and lobby elected officials for things like widespread mail-in ballots. The small, racially diverse paid staff run many traditional voter engagement programs, such as phone banks and voter-registration drives. The organization also focuses on partnering with local organizations and provides extra capacity in the form of trained volunteers for campaigns in 20 states. All programming has become virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic and substantial time has been spent training volunteers on the new technologies.

South Korea held a national election during the Covid-19 pandemic by taking extensive sanitation and health screening measures. In addition to mandatory face protection and social distancing, voters’ temperatures were taken, hands covered in sanitizer, and given new gloves for their sanitized hands. Those with a fever voted in a secluded area and those with mild Covid-19 symptoms could vote by hospitals. Those in quarantine had one hour to vote after everyone else and needed to report to officials when home. It’s impossible to erase all risks, but many voters report the steps taken increased their security.