Resources

This brief provides an overview of state policies related to absentee and mail voting. It discusses the potential advantages and disadvantages of voting by mail, outlines state policies for qualifying for and requesting an absentee ballot, and details how states process, verify, and count absentee/mail ballots. The brief concludes with key policy points related to by mail voting for policymakers to consider.

This report details how American voters experienced the 2024 general election. It is based on a survey of 10,200 registered voters, including 200 from each state plus D.C. Key findings from mail voting include: mail voting decreased to 29% from 43% in 2020; 37% of Democrats used mail voting compared to 24% for Republicans; few voters reported issue with requesting or completing a mail ballot; 3% of voters who returned their ballot via mail encountered disruptions.

This issue brief provides an overview of absentee and mail voting in the U.S.. Authors provide a brief history of mail voting, and note an increase in mail voting since the COVID-19 pandemic. It spotlights Oregon's early adoption of vote-by-mail (VBM) and explores current discourse regarding whether VBM increases voter turnout, and concerns over electoral integrity.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of absentee/mail voting and early in-person policies between January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and November 2022. This research highlights that most absentee/mail voting policies were not significantly affected by the pandemic. If changes were made to policies for the 2020 election, they reverted to the policy existing prior to the pandemic.

This brief documents the emergence and growth of mail balloting and details the unique administrative arrangements associated with this method of voting, related research and best practices, and areas where there is still more to learn. Voting by uniformed and overseas citizens—"UOCAVA” voters—is a special case not focused on in this report.

This report, issued by the Office of the State Auditor, summarizes a statistical analysis of ballots submitted in the Washington 2020 general elections, with an emphasis on understanding common reasons and predictors of ballot rejection. Its findings point to the county where a ballot was cast as being the most significant variable related to ballot rejection. The report concludes with recommendations for the state aimed at reducing ballot rejections.

This brief studies trends in mail ballot rejection rates in 2020 compared to previous years and how different factors, including sets of policies and policy changes, the political environment, and voter outreach, may have contributed to these changes in an extraordinary election year. Authors note potential areas of further study to better understand how voters casting their ballots by mail can ensure their votes are counted.

This report seeks to inform discourse surrounding the implementation and impacts of vote by mail (VBM) policies by evaluating modern use-cases. Authors examine the history of VBM policies, the landscape of current research on VBM and analyze the use of VBM in Utah as a caste study. Report findings indicate that, when implemented well, VBM is a secure and successful means of casting a ballot

This United States Postal Service (USPS) report outlines the scope of election mail handled by USPS and identifies key service challenges including poorly designed ballot envelopes, tight state deadlines that don't align with postal delivery windows, and inconsistent postmarking requirements. The report identifies the "extraordinary measures" taken by USPS during election periods to effectively process and deliver election mail.

Since the passage of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment of 2009, many technology solutions have been developed to help UOCAVA voters request, receive and return their ballots. This report examines the preliminary and current landscape of these technology solutions and identifies barriers to ensuring their sustainability. The report also identifies areas of further research related to emerging UOCAVA balloting solutions.

In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly established a working group to provide instructions, procedures, services, a security assessment, and security measures for the secure return by electronic means of voted absentee military- overseas ballots from uniformed-service voters outside of the United States. This report details the finding and work of the working group's first convening in 2015.

An early assessment of the growing trend of states expanding the use of absentee and early in-person voting in elections.