In Mail We Trust: Exploring the Effects of All-Mail Voting on Voter Turnout in the 2020 US Presidential Election
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The highly polemicized 2020 US presidential election occurred within the logistically challenging contexts of the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting states to implement widely varying electoral reforms, including increased access to Vote-by-Mail (“VBM”) and adoption of All-Mail Voting (“AMV”). Despite polarized rhetoric around the increased use of mail ballots and varied degrees of VBM expansion, voter turnout universally increased across the US. Historic literature fails to explain the disparate effects of various electoral reforms on voter turnout; this paper thus seeks consensus through consideration of the 2020 election and contemporary literature. This paper begins with a synthesis of the current state of electoral reform legislation and theories on voter participation. It then synthesizes current and historic literature on the effects of various electoral reforms on voter turnout, turning ultimately to the effects of VBM and AMV on voter turnout in US elections. It then addresses historic use of VBM before analyzing the performance of VBM and AMV in the 2020 election. Lastly, it considers the effects of electoral reforms on demographic subgroups and contests commonly cited alternative explanations. Historic findings indicate that AMV increases voter turnout by 4%, while the 2020 election suggests rates closer to 6%. Increased access to VBM was found to have less significant, though nonetheless positive effects on voter turnout. Analysis of 2020 election data also demonstrates that partisan lean correlates with increased availability of VBM in the 2020 election, and that such availability, with the exception of states experiencing already high turnout rates, positively correlates with significant increases in voter turnout. Data from administration of the 2020 election in California also suggests that AMV spurs increased turnout among Black, Latino, Asian, and youth voters and accordingly decreases the turnout gap across demographic subgroups. Further research into the effects of AMV on the turnout of demographic subgroups is nonetheless required; additionally, further study on the intersectional effects of AMV and other electoral reforms is necessary to fully understand the mechanisms by which voter turnout changes.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date modified | December 5, 2022 |
| Publication date | May 19, 2022; May 13, 2022 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Popke, Alexandra |
|---|---|
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law |
| Thesis advisor | Bonica, Adam |
Subjects
| Subject | Electoral Reforms |
|---|---|
| Subject | Voter Turnout |
| Subject | Vote-by-Mail |
| Subject | All-Mail Voting |
| Subject | 2020 US Presidential Election |
| Subject | US Elections |
| Subject | Covid-19 Legislation |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Popke, Alexandra. (2022). In Mail We Trust: Exploring the Effects of All-Mail Voting on Voter Turnout in the 2020 US Presidential Election . Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/qg527fk4964
Collection
Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. (CDDRL)
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- ajpopke@gmail.com
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