The “costs” of voting: The effects of vote‐by‐mail on election administration finance in Colorado

Universal vote-by-mail has no impact on partisan turnout or vote share

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2007249117 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 202007249 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Daniel M. Thompson ◽

Jennifer A. Wu ◽

Jesse Yoder ◽

Andrew B. Hall

Keyword(s):

The United States ◽

Vote Share ◽

Causal Effects ◽

Difference In Differences ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Us States ◽

Election Administration ◽

Electoral Outcomes ◽

The Media ◽

Vote By Mail

In response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many scholars and policy makers are urging the United States to expand voting-by-mail programs to safeguard the electoral process. What are the effects of vote-by-mail? In this paper, we provide a comprehensive design-based analysis of the effect of universal vote-by-mail—a policy under which every voter is mailed a ballot in advance of the election—on electoral outcomes. We collect data from 1996 to 2018 on all three US states that implemented universal vote-by-mail in a staggered fashion across counties, allowing us to use a difference-in-differences design at the county level to estimate causal effects. We find that 1) universal vote-by-mail does not appear to affect either party’s share of turnout, 2) universal vote-by-mail does not appear to increase either party’s vote share, and 3) universal vote-by-mail modestly increases overall average turnout rates, in line with previous estimates. All three conclusions support the conventional wisdom of election administration experts and contradict many popular claims in the media.

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Protests, Pandemics, and Political Participation: Voter Turnout in Georgia in the 2020 Elections

10.33774/apsa-2021-9qrw7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kiela Crabtree ◽

Bernard Fraga

Keyword(s):

Racial Differences ◽

Voter Turnout ◽

The Self ◽

Racial Justice ◽

Election Administration ◽

General Elections ◽

Electoral Mobilization ◽

Vote By Mail ◽

Black Voters ◽

Protest Activity

We consider how pandemic-related shifts in election administration and racial justice protest activity impacted participation in 2020 primary and general elections in Georgia. Using a comprehensive statewide voter file, including data on the self-reported race and validated turnout of over 7 million registered Georgians, we analyze the combined effect of these events on racial differences in voter turnout rates, methods, and timing. We find that despite a shift to mail balloting, Black voters were significantly more likely to vote in person during the pandemic than White Democrats. These voters were later less likely to vote by mail (or vote at all) in November. We also demonstrate that Black turnout was significantly higher in the period following racial justice protests in Georgia than it was for other groups. The results of this study indicate how election reforms and non-electoral mobilization can shape turnout disparities even among highly engaged voters.

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A Survey of Election Administration in Nigeria: An Analysis of 2007 and 2011 National Assembly Elections in Taraba State

Frontiers in Management Research ◽

10.22606/fmr.2020.42001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Author(s):

U. D. Jongur ◽

◽

A. Bobboji ◽

Keyword(s):

National Assembly ◽

Election Administration

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Electoral laws

10.1093/oso/9780190934163.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard L. Hasen

Keyword(s):

Fake News ◽

Election Administration ◽

External Threats ◽

Electoral Laws ◽

Political Integrity ◽

Voting Laws ◽

Vote Counting

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the legal and political integrity issues raised in the 2016 elections. It begins by describing the now normal voting wars between the hyperpolarized parties, lawsuits aimed at shaping the rules for the registration of voters, the conduct of voting, and the counting of ballots. Restrictive voting laws have increased in number and severity in many states with Republican legislatures, and the judiciary itself often divides along partisan lines in determining controversial laws’ legality. The chapter then turns to the troubling escalation in the wars, from candidate Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud and election rigging to Russian (and other) meddling, the rise of “fake news,” and problems with vote-counting machinery and election administration. It concludes by considering the role that governmental and nongovernmental institutions can play in protecting American election administration from internal and external threats and restoring confidence in elections.

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Is Distance to Drop Box an Appropriate Proxy for Drop Box Treatment? A Case Study of Washington State

American Politics Research ◽

10.1177/1532673x211022192 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1532673X2110221

Author(s):

Loren Collingwood ◽

Benjamin Gonzalez O’Brien

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Voter Turnout ◽

The United States ◽

Washington State ◽

Individual Level ◽

Primary 52 ◽

The One ◽

Vote By Mail

In the United States, drop box mail-in voting has increased, particularly in the all vote by mail (VBM) states of Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon. To assess if drop boxes improve voter turnout, research proxies box treatment by voters’ residence distance to nearest drop box. However, no research has tested the assumption that voters use drop boxes nearest their residence more so than they do other drop boxes. Using individual-level voter data from a 2020 Washington State election, we show that voters are more likely to use the nearest drop box to their residence relative to other drop boxes. In Washington’s 2020 August primary, 52% of drop box voters in our data used their nearest drop box. Moreover, those who either (1) vote by mail, or (2) used a different drop box from the one closest to their residence live further away from their closest drop box. Implications are discussed.

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