Prepaid Postage Archives - National Vote at Home Institute

Cost of Voting in the American States: 2022

A recent nonpartisan academic study that ranked all 50 states based on the amount of time, energy, and resources people must make to vote was released this week. To no surprise, of the top 10 states for ease of voting, eight are the nation’s only states conducting full vote-at-home elections in 2022, during which all voters will automatically be mailed ballots for the upcoming midterms. As for the bottom 10 states, seven require their voters to attest to a valid excuse in order to obtain a mailed-out ballot.

Prepaid postage using pre-stamped envelopes to affect turnout costs

Research on the effects of prepaid postage on voter participation in Switzerland found a modest increase in turnout between 1.1 and 1.3 percentage points.

The Elasticity of Voter Turnout: Investing 85 Cents per Voter to Increase Voter Turnout by 4 Percent

In this paper that examines the effects of prepaid postage on voter turnout in the Swiss Canton of Berne, researchers find that prepaid postage is associated with a statistically significant 1.8 percentage point increase in voter turnout. Overall, this amounts to 4 percent more voters participating.

King County Elections Pilots Prepaid Postage in Special Election

During 2017 special elections in the City of Maple Valley and Shoreline School District, King County Elections (Washington state) piloted prepaid postage. While the county estimated 30% turnout based on participation in previous elections, turnout was significantly higher, at 37% and 40%.