No, Amy Coney Barrett will not be confirmed prior to the election.
Given the tight race in 2016, one thing more than any other—including Comey’s October surprise—led to Trump squeaking out victories: the Supreme Court pick. As was the case with state anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives in 2004, the key to Republican electoral success was riling up the one-issue conservative voters enough to go to the polls. In 2016, that was keeping a Supreme Court pick away from liberals. They will want to use the same formula in 2020.
Trump, needing a shot in the arm (forgive the COVID pun) but not getting the vaccine in time, has few pathways to win. The SCOTUS nomination has fallen into his lap and is the best way to motivate his more lukewarm followers to turn out—but not if Unremarkable ACB (who is a far cry from Notorious RBG) has already been confirmed. A confirmation prior to the election will lead to a complacent Republican electorate and an even more fired up Democrat/independent electorate. That is the last thing that Trump wants.
So, while all the posturing now is to confirm prior to Nov. 3, the more likely scenario is for Democrats to stonewall as much as they can, only to have the Republicans feign outrage and, while they could force the vote through, quietly wait on the vote until after the election, blaming Democratic obstruction—all the while encouraging their conservative base to turn out at the polls to ensure that a conservative (translation: a nominee who will vote to overturn Roe v Wade) will sit on the Supreme Court. Expect the usual fear mongering of who Biden—an alleged puppet of the left-wing mob—might nominate.
Had the strategy really been to confirm prior to the election, Trump would have likely nominated Barbara Lagoa in an effort to win Florida. Nominating Amy Coney Barrett, a Caucasian judge with a stronger record against abortion, was the better pick for the motivation of white conservatives if the real strategy is to hold off on confirmation until after the election.
Regardless, Barrett will find her way onto SCOTUS. Expect a vote shortly before Thanksgiving, before the lame-duck Senate majority is gone. And, of course, before Mark Kelly is seated and Mitt Romney could then swoop in as the fourth vote against confirmation and regain his “principled” stance.