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Several voting and registration options are available to states to ensure the safety of elections despite the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This report outlines these options, considering the factors that officials will have to examine in determining how to conduct the election safely; the advantages and challenges of each approach; and the levels of risk regarding safety, integrity, access, and logistics.

This appendix provides additional methodological and research material for two reports that summarize results of an August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020. The August survey, a follow-up to one conducted in May with identical questions, focused on intention to vote, intended voting method, physical safety, and election integrity and indicated small changes in responses.

An August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020 revealed small changes in responses compared with May 2020 responses to an identical survey that focused on physical safety, and election integrity. Changes were modest but notable, including an increase in uncertainty about election integrity.

An August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020 revealed small changes in responses compared with May 2020 responses to an identical survey that focused on intention to vote and intended voting method. Changes were modest but notable, including some decline in intention to vote among those who were uncertain in May, and a shift from in-person to mail-in voting.

Trust in government and media has declined in the past two decades. Assessing individual characteristics and institutional attributes associated with trust offers insight into this decline and is a first step toward rebuilding institutional trust. Researchers developed a new method to assess these concepts, using a survey of 1,008 respondents and a response scale that distinguishes among trust, lack of trust or distrust, and active distrust.

State election laws on voter registration, remote voting, and early voting could have implications for the execution of an election under conditions brought on by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This tool supplements a companion report and provides state-by-state granular details, including references to relevant state laws, about each of these aspects of voting.

RAND authors analyzed responses from 2,389 survey respondents about public safety, election integrity, and preparedness of local officials to manage the November 2020 election in the pandemic context. Responses indicate that although most voters say they believe that voting will be safe and that their vote will be counted despite the pandemic, those who question election safety and some who question election integrity appear less likely to vote.

This brief describes results of a study focused on changes in news presentation over time and across platforms, finding a general shift from objective event-based reporting to reporting that relies more heavily on argumentation and advocacy.

RAND has begun to investigate the causes and consequences of the phenomenon it calls Truth Decay — the diminishing role of facts and data in American public life — and invites others to join in continued research to help counteract it.

This report — part of a series examining critical security challenges in 2040 — uses survey data from a nationally representative sample of adults to examine perceptions of economic and national security and compare attitudes and opinions of millennials with those of previous generations. It concludes by making inferences about potential millennial concerns about security in the year 2040.

Integrity in the management and administration of the electoral process is key to the maintenance of public confidence in democracy. In Ireland, the integrity of the electoral process is set out in general terms in the Constitution and expanded upon in legislation. This article assesses the theory and practice that shapes both the structures and processes of electoral integrity in Ireland from a legal standpoint. There are three elements to the analysis: the principle of electoral integrity as encapsulated in its many forms, the incorporation of this principle into Irish regulatory procedure and legislation, and the precedents that have developed from judicial interpretation of this legislation. The article concludes with an overall assessment of how the legal framework for the administration of Irish elections compares to international best practice norms.

This report assesses trends in armed conflict and their implications for defense planning. The incidence of such conflict has declined in recent decades and only sharply different alternative future scenarios are likely to change such trends. Several key political, economic, and strategic factors, including the deterrent effect of the U.S. military, appear to have contributed to this decline and are likely to continue to do so in the future.

While the incidence of wars between states has declined significantly over the past several decades, intrastate violence appears to have stabilized following a decline in the aftermath of the Cold War. This report explores, through an extensive literature review, whether the current conflict patterns represent a permanent shift or a temporary aberration.