Resources

Authors examine the effects of state election administration laws on voter turnout at the state and individual levels for people with disabilities and compare them to that of the non-disabled population. They find that convenience voting reforms such as same-day registration and election-day registration boost turnout for both populations while all mail elections decrease the turnout gap between people with disabilities and the non-disabled.

This report highlights key trends in voter turnout among voters with disabilities in the 2022 elections. Authors note an increase in turnout among these voters compared to the 2018 midterms, especially in states with expanded vote by mail policies. However, approx. 14% of voters with disabilities reported some difficulties voting.

The research finds that counties that moved to send registered voters mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day experienced 2.6 percent higher turnout compared to counties that made no change, although lesser reforms may have hindered turnout. Additionally no evidence is found that making voting by mail easier conferred a partisan advantage.

In this article, authors analyze on-site early voting locations on two reservations in Nevada. They find that on-site early voting substantially increased voter turnout in the general election on the reservations studied. These findings support providing convenient locations and longer periods to cast a ballot increases voter turnout.

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.

Using surveys of registered voters conducted in April and May 2020 designed to assess the support for various electoral reforms, the research shows that the overall support for expanding VBM in April 2020 falls sharply after just six weeks because Republicans became less worried about catching COVID-19, and unconcerned Republicans became far more opposed to VBM. These differences not only persisted, but actually increased even further between May and Election Day according to a survey done using a different methodology in November 2020.

While the evidence is clear that 2020 voters shifted away from Election Day voting in favor of vote-by-mail and early voting, very is known about how health risk versus party polarization around risk assessment influenced how and when to vote. The research finds that age and party were large factors in vote mode decisions in 2020, but not in 2016 or 2018.

In this paper, authors examine the impact of same day registration (SDR) policies on younger voters. They find that SDR disproportionately increases turnout among individuals aged 18–24 and is especially pronounced in presidential elections. The effects of early voting and other reforms are smaller and do not consistently vary by age.

Drawing on a large survey of validated Florida voters, including those who regularly vote by mail, the research finds that retrospective and prospective misreporting of vote method prior to the 2020 General Election was driven primarily by support for Trump. The president’s supporters who were most politically aware were most likely to disavow their own voting by mail and misreport their anticipated vote method in the November election.

This analysis of the Florida general elections of 2016, 2018, and 2020 shows that voters inexperienced with mail voting disproportionately submit ballots that end up rejected due to (1) late arrival at elections offices or (2) signature defects on return envelopes. Inexperienced mail voters are up to three times more likely to have their ballots rejected compared to experienced mail voters.

All mail voting in Colorado had a positive overall turnout effect of approximately 8 percentage points—translating into an additional 900,000 ballots being cast between 2014 and 2018.