Mail-ballot voters turnout at higher rates than polling place voters

Since 2020, mail-ballot use has been on the rise across the U.S., resulting in more voters having access to the ballot box. The 2022 primary elections were no exception. 

On average, vote-at-home states (and Montana, with 89% of votes cast from mailed-out ballots in its primary) saw 35% turnout during the primaries. This is compared to the lower average turnout in states that require their voters to request a mailed ballot for every election without needing an excuse and excuse-required states, at 26% and 19% respectively. Of the Top 10 highest-performing states, seven were full vote-at-home states. Meanwhile, in the bottom 10 states, seven require voters to have an excuse (e.g. seniors or voters with disabilities) to vote from home. Fewer than one in five registered voters participated in those elections. 

The evidence is clear: vote-at-home policies promote greater voter participation thanks to easy, safe, and convenient access to mailed-out ballots.

Massachusetts voters solidly embrace mail balloting

Gloucester Daily Times – Massachusetts voters are clearly still enthusiastic about voting through the mail. Nearly 529,000 ballots were cast by mail or dropped off at city and town halls before polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Read More

Illinois voters may opt to vote-by-mail in all elections

NBC Illinois – Elections officials are sending applications for permanent permission to vote by mail to each of the state’s 8 million registered voters. No one is obligated to sign up. But for as long as they stay at the same address, those who do will receive ballots they can complete at home and put in the mail for all future elections.

Read More

Debate Over: Vote by Mail Boosts Turnout

Washington Monthly – It is increasingly clear that vote by mail boosts election participation and that whichever party does the most to convince its voters to utilize mail ballots will have an edge in November.

Read More

Mail-ballot delivery helped boost turnout in D.C. primary

Washington City Paper – D.C.’s decision to mail ballots to every eligible voter helped boost participation in wards 7 and 8. And that’s no small thing, considering that politicians have been puzzling over how to reach more people in the city’s poorest, most underserved neighborhoods basically ever since the mayor-for-life finished his last term in office.

Read More

NJ governor signs preprocessing bill, other election legislation into law

New Jersey Monitor – Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday signed a package of seven election bills into law the governor said will make democracy in New Jersey stronger, more accessible, and more transparent. The bills — which do everything from allowing minors to serve as poll workers to permitting the counting of mail-in ballots prior to Election Day — passed the Legislature in June before lawmakers went on their customary summer recess.

Read More