I don't think there have been any relevant changes in this.
You were asked to type your admin password by the 1.19.2.1
installer as well.  I think this is just something that
macOS pkg installers require, at least if you're putting the
binary in /usr/local.

In fact, pandoc does not need admin rights.  There are
instructions in http://pandoc.org/installing.html#macos
for unpacking the binaries and documentation from the
pkg container; once you unpack them you can put them
where you like!

+++ Adam Shostack [Oct 31 17 16:56 ]:

  Hi,
  Congratulations on shipping v2!
  When I went to install it on my mac, I was prompted for the admin
  password.  This wasn't previously a requirement, and it would be better
  to install as a normal user.
  Is there an explanation anywhere of why Pandoc needs admin rights?
  Adam

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