The Bipartisan Truth About By-Mail Voting
Perez
Executive Summary
State-Level Actions in Response to COVID-19 Demonstrate Pragmatism, Not Politics
When the COVID-19 outbreak began in early March, it rapidly resulted in swift and widespread changes in how states administer elections during the public health crisis. Many states have moved rapidly to postpone scheduled primaries and to modify their election policies and practices in order to provide voters with more choices for casting a ballot, especially in light of social distancing practices and reduced in-person voting.
Increased access to by-mail voting in response to COVID-19 has been a central part of the changing landscape. As this practice has received more attention, it has also become the subject of fierce political debate between the Republican and Democratic parties in Washington, DC.
The untold story is that despite the partisan rancor over by-mail voting that exists in the White House and Congress, state governors and election officials from both parties and in most states have been methodically expanding access to by-mail voting in response to COVID-19.
This Briefing presents a detailed look at what red and blue state election officials are actually implementing for by-mail voting— and they have much in common.
Our research reveals that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, 46 of 50 states and the District of Columbia currently offer some form of by-mail voting for all voters. 24 of those states have Democratic Governors, and 22 have Republican governors.
To produce this Briefing, the OSET Institute performed comprehensive research and analysis on the current state of election policy and practice regarding by-mail voting in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a particular eye toward any recent changes precipitated by the COVID-19 public health crisis. Especially noteworthy is the Briefing’s summary of recent actions by many red and blue states alike to relax “excuse” requirements for absentee by-mail voting, thereby expanding access for all voters.
The majority of our research is based on primary investigation of state websites offering election-related information, including by-mail voting policies; recently-changed orders or directives; any voter-facing tools to request by-mail ballots, including electronically-fillable absentee requests, or downloadable PDF forms for printing at home. In addition, we surveyed recent media stories from national and local reporters, as well as official social media communications from governors, secretaries of state, and other officials.
Summary results of our research are provided in a table at the end of this Briefing. In addition, our detailed data set, which includes filters for sorting and URLs for relevant state websites, media stories, and references to relevant state election law is also available upon request, as an Appendix to this Briefing. A second Appendix presents representative samples of recent social media communications from Republican-led states that have chosen to expand access to by-mail voting, and can be viewed here.
This Briefing is intended to inform intellectually honest discussion on the measures necessary to ensure access to voting, public health, and voter confidence in our democratic process.
