Absentee Voting

Executive Summary 

Some states, including Missouri, require voters to provide a valid excuse in order to receive an absentee ballot in the mail as an alternative to in-person voting. Other states allow voters to request a ballot without any excuse, or automatically mail all voters a ballot. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many states expanded the availability of absentee voting for the 2020 primary and presidential elections. As a result, the use of mail-in ballots nearly doubled with respect to previous election years. Studies have shown that allowing all registered voters to request a mail-in ballot without any excuse requirement can result in a moderate increase in voter turnout. There have been no indications that mail-in ballots are associated with large increases in the share of votes obtained by one party or with increases in voter fraud. 

Highlights 

• Thirty-four states in the US offer absentee voting with no excuse requirement or automatically send mail-in ballots to all registered voters.

• No-excuse absentee voting is estimated to increase voter turnout by about 2%; universal mail-in voting is estimated to increase voter turnout from 2% - 8%.

• Moderate to no partisan effect on voter turnout or share of votes is observed as a result of implementing no-excuse absentee voting or universal mail-in voting.

• No widespread increase in voter fraud has been observed with mail-in ballots.

Limitations 

• There is a limited amount of research on the effects of absentee voting on voter habits.

• Universal mail-in voting has been estimated to increase voter turnout, but further research may be needed to better understand the factors that may account for this increase.