With 22 states allowing certain elections to be conducted exclusively through mail-in ballots, the National Conference of State Legislatures in its latest issue of The Canvass published an in-depth report on the practice, exploring its reach and cost, as well as its potential impact of voter turnout and more.
Here is an excerpt regarding its reach:
The kinds of jurisdictions that use all-mail elections vary. Some states have leaned on the voting method to address a shortfall in elections resources. In Idaho, a county with a precinct that has no more than 125 registered voters can use all-mail elections. Some states, such as Hawaii, which has some of the lowest turnout rates in the country, allow jurisdictions to use vote-by-mail for local and special elections as a way to boost voter participation.
Here is an excerpt regarding its cost:
Shifting to all-mail elections decreases the need for polling place workers and that can translate into savings. Typically, poll worker wages are a significant part of an election budget. (Local election officials often cite the need to find and train poll workers as their biggest headache.) In 2011, when Montana considered expanding to vote-by-mail for all elections, the state’s association of clerks and recorders estimated the move would save taxpayers $2 million each election cycle.
Here is an excerpt about its security:
Critics of vote-by-mail cite concerns over the secure delivery of ballots to and from voters. In his report “Adding up the Costs and Benefits of Voting-by-Mail,” MIT’s Charles Stewart III points out there has been a “leakage” of absentee ballots lost in transit for a variety of reasons. These include ballots requested but not received, ballots transmitted but not returned for counting, and ballots returned for counting but rejected. This loss of votes could significantly affect a close election.
Supporters of vote-by-mail say ballot-tracking systems, which many elections administrators have turned to in recent years, address this concern and allow a person to follow where his or her ballot is in the delivery and counting process. Denver’s elections division reported that 17,931 people used its ballot tracking system during the November 2013 election. The system allows voters to receive status updates of their ballot as it enters the mail system, while it is being processed by the U.S. Postal Service and when it has been returned to the elections office.
Pennsylvanians for Fair Elections 