US politics watch: Civics, a new election battleground

The latest turn in this extraordinary election came with President Trump returning to the White House after having spent the weekend in hospital testing positive for Covid-19. As a result, the remaining weeks will be dominated by the virus even more than before. One scenario is that a re-invigorated Trump will personify through his recovery an ability to lead the country past the pandemic and towards economic prosperity in a second term. Alternatively, the virus will leave him lethargic and unable to wrest momentum back from his opponent Joe Biden.

The 2020 election is the first time for generations that there has been so much focus on the electoral process itself. That focus could eventually produce fundamental changes to the country’s civic landscape. Issues that would have dominated the final stretch of earlier campaigns, such as the Republican decision to move ahead with confirming a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court or the uncivil nature of the first presidential debate, have been eclipsed by questions about whether the country’s political system will be able to produce a fair outcome.

Our report, written in conjunction with Oxford Analytica, examines what's now at stake for America and the world. We look at the mail-in ballots controversy and what might happen should President Trump dispute the result. What about the future of the electoral college and Congress whoever wins? It's all covered in our report on the US election 2020 which could pave the way for America's civic institutions as we know them to be changed forever.

Download the full report by pressing the orange box above.