Resources

Authors use official statewide voter file and mail-in ballot data from the 2018 midterm election in Georgia to test whether certain voters are more likely to cast a mail ballot that does not count. In their analysis, authors distinguish between ballots rejected for lateness and those rejected for a mistake on the return envelope, finding that newly registered, young, and minority voters have higher rejection rates compared with their counterparts.

These results suggest that making it easier to vote by mail—especially mailing every voter a ballot—generally does increase turnout, both before and during the 2020 election. By contrast, the same policies do not have robust partisan effects, and in many models, they tilt the results in a more Republican direction.

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 report summarizes the findings of a 2022 national survey of eligible voters with and without disabilities to understand the role of the internet in accessing voting information. Topics covered include computer and internet use, sources of information on the voting process used in 2020, and accessibility of information sources, among other topics.

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.

Philadelphia officials randomly sent 46,960 Philadelphia registrants postcards encouraging them to apply to vote by mail in the lead-up to the June 2020 primary election. While the intervention increased the likelihood a registrant cast a mail ballot by 0.4 percentage points —or 3%—many of these additional mail ballots counted only because a last-minute policy intervention allowed most mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to count.

This report examines election-related hurdles that hinder or prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in U.S. elections, including during the 2020 election cycle. It offers recommendations that policymakers can adopt to improve election accessibility for voters with disabilities.