Peer-to-Peer: The impact of wildfires on US elections

In our first episode of the new season of Peer-to-Peer, we speak with Sarah Birch and Jeff Fischer to learn more about the effect of wildfires on elections in California. The conversation is based on an International IDEA case study that focuses on the impact of wildfires on the 2016 and 2018 electoral cycles but also on the steps taken by election administrators to protecting elections. The discussion also centres on the increased vulnerability of the United States and its election cycles to climate change effects. 

Guests: Sarah Birch is a professor of Political Science at King’s College London, Jeff Fischer is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Democracy and Civil Society as well as a consultant on election administration. 

Hosts: Heidi Park and Erik Asplund 

Background reading: 

Wildfires and Elections in California – Case Study 

Wildfires, Hurricanes, Floods and Earthquakes: How Elections are Impacted by Natural Hazards 

The Impact of Natural Hazards on Elections 

How hurricanes threaten U.S. elections and why more flexible voting is needed