Still Not Important Enough? COVID-19 Policy Views and Vote Choice

Scholars have long been skeptical of citizens' ability to vote on the basis of their policy views. Voters lack incentives to pay attention to politics and so are often unaware of the policy stances adopted by candidates and parties. However, some scholars have suggested that voter attention may increase when policy issues become important to them. The coronavirus pandemic provides a compelling test of this proposition. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most severe crises the United States has faced. Many voters also know people who have tested positive and in some cases died from the virus. It is thus salient and important to many if not most voters. Despite this context, we assess voters' knowledge about the candidates' positions on coronavirus issues and find low levels. In the absence of knowledge, voters project their own policy views onto their preferred candidate.