“The most fundamental act of democratic engagement — voting — is being profoundly threatened during this time of global pandemic,” write Suffolk University Political Science & Legal Studies professors Rachael Cobb and Brian Conley in a Boston Globe op-ed. 

Cobb, the chair of the department, and Conley point to the logistical and safety challenges of expanding vote-by-mail, staffing polling locations, and engaging in “get out the vote” activities during this fall’s remaining primaries and November’s general election.  

The professors — who both study and teach about election administration, civic engagement, and political participation — also write about the need for accurate, unbiased information related to voting methods and election results.

"The only way to enact change is to be part of the solution. It’s time for Americans to engage, to join a campaign, to run for office themselves, to contact their elected officials and tell them that our democracy must survive this pandemic — and the threats to the integrity of the electoral process — and that Americans have a right to vote safely and with confidence. And it is time for all of us to inspire our friends, family, and neighbors to vote in 2020 and in every election going forward. Every vote cast is a vote for the nation’s future.”

Read the full text of the op-ed.