ANDRA GILLESPIE, associate professor of political science, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference 

During an especially close presidential race, the ability of political parties to mobilize voters matters. And research shows the most effective way to turn out the vote is still old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning, says Andra Gillespie.

But COVID-19 has complicated that strategy. “We know from the literature on voter turnout the best way to increase a person’s likelihood of voting is asking them face-to-face,” Gillespie says. “Canvassing is more difficult during a pandemic — it’s not safe.”

Despite the fact that personal contact remains the “gold standard” in winning over voters, racial and ethnic minority voters are reporting fewer campaign contacts this year. And overlooking them reflects some dangerous assumptions, she says.

For African Americans, “it’s because they are known as the most Democratic voting bloc in the United States,” Gillespie says, so canvassers may assume they can’t be persuaded to support an opposing candidate and that they don't need motivation to vote. Latinx and Asian American voters can often suffer misperceptions about their citizenship status or eligibility to vote. But when it comes to mobilization, it’s a mistake to overlook those voters, she insists.

In states with large racial minority populations, robust turnout could be a gamechanger — as demonstrated by the decrease in African American voter turnout in crucial cities like Detroit during the contentious 2016 presidential race. “We really need to remember that Americans come in all colors and come from all backgrounds and that it’s really important to reach all of them,” notes Gillespie.

Gillespie predicts this year’s presidential race will be decided by mobilization over persuasion, so for both parties, voter participation is crucial. “This is an election about turnout,” she says. “President Trump hasn’t grown his base over the past three-and-a-half years. As the electorate has shifted, he needs to make sure he gets people who could be identified as his base out to vote. In a close race, that could spell the difference between winning and losing a state.”

However, this year voters may experience old and new barriers to casting their ballots, from being dropped from voter registration rolls and changes in polling places to uncertainties about mail-in ballots and the risk of long waits or threats of intimidation at the polls. “There is a lot of misinformation out there,” she acknowledges. 

That’s why it’s important to have a plan, says Gillespie. Whether using an absentee ballot or voting in person, she urges voters to study the candidates and vote early, giving extra time to track your ballot and correct disqualifying errors, such as an overlooked signature.

If issues arise on Election Day, Gillespie says that voters should know they have the right to demand a provisional ballot and can call 1-866-OUR-VOTE, a national nonpartisan service, to speak with lawyers standing by to answer specific questions.

Andra Gillespie is author of “Race and the Obama Administration” (2019) and “The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark and Post-Racial America” (2013) and editor of “Whose Black Politics? Cases in Post-Racial Black Leadership” (2009).  Learn more about her here.