Protests, Pandemics, and Participation: Turnout in the 2020 Georgia Elections

• In Event: Partisanship and Voting Among Black Americans

Abstract

The state of Georgia became the focus of nationwide attention with a narrow margin of victory for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Moreover, a pair of close Senate races prompted two run-off elections in early 2021 that determined partisan control of the legislative body. These elections came at the end of a year that saw the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resurgent Black Lives Matter protests, which combined to create tremendous upheaval in the everyday lives of Americans. In this study, we consider how the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and related occurrences impacted political participation in the aforementioned 2020 elections in Georgia. Using statewide voter registration data, we analyze the combined effect these events, as well as the heightened salience of elections in Georgia, while also conducting descriptive analyses of rates of participation by age groups and racial/ethnic groups. The result of this study is a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of racial/ethnic and age disparities in voter turnout, along with indications of what circumstances can modify these disparities.

Authors

• Bernard L. Fraga, Emory University

• Kiela Crabtree, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor