In November 2020, almost three-quarters of voters cast their ballot outside of Election Day voting. In the preceding 25 years, no election had seen more than 40% of voters use alternative vote modes like early in-person or by-mail voting. It’s hard to overstate how much of a shift this was across the country, for both voters and the election officials who deliver democracy to hundreds of millions every year.
Election Day voting decreased across all regions of the country in 2020. Even in the Northeast, where historically at least 90% of voters showed up to the polling place on a Tuesday in November, more than half of voters chose to vote early or by mail this past year. In the West, which has seen mail voting grow more and more prevalent in the last 25 years, only 10% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day.
Early in-person voting also saw an increase in 2020, though one that is not out of line with historical increases. The American South has long been increasing its use of early voting, and that pattern stayed true in 2020 – almost half of Southern voters chose to vote in-person before Election Day. In 2020 we saw expansions of early voting opportunities in several states, including Kentucky – which previously lacked no-excuse early voting provisions. While there were increases in early voting across all regions compared to previous elections, these increases are of the same scale as we have seen in previous years.
Mail voting showed the most increased use in 2020, across all regions of the U.S. The West continued its heavy adoption of mail voting, with almost 80% of voters casting their ballots by mail. In the other regions of the country, mail voting jumped from about 10% of ballots cast to 25% (in the South) or even 40% (in the Northeast and Midwest). These jumps are massive compared to the historical uses of mail voting in these regions, with the Northeast seeing an almost-sevenfold increase in mail ballot usage.
As the COVID-19 pandemic goes on and more elections are conducted, we’re watching to see whether mail voting continues at as high a rate as it did in 2020. Since non-presidential elections typically see less voter turnout and more Americans are starting to be vaccinated for COVID-19, we might see a decrease in mail voting as a higher proportion of voters feel comfortable returning to the polling place. Additionally, several states have bills in various states of progress to limit opportunities for mail voting. Alternatively, we might see that voters who cast their ballot by mail for the first time in 2020 enjoyed the process and will continue to do so in future elections. Only time will tell, and in full-vote-by-mail Oregon that time is now: ballots for the May 18 Special Election hit mailboxes this week!
The U.S. Census Bureau just released data tables from their 2020 Voting and Registration Supplement, a biannual supplement to the monthly Current Population Survey that focuses on election related topics – particularly in the wake of the 2002 Help America Vote Act. These tables show what we’ve known intuitively and from other sources for a while: vote-by-mail rates were higher in 2020 than any year previously, as states across the country updated their absentee voting policies and voters adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2020, almost three-quarters of voters cast their ballot outside of Election Day voting. In the preceding 25 years, no election had seen more than 40% of voters use alternative vote modes like early in-person or by-mail voting. It’s hard to overstate how much of a shift this was across the country, for both voters and the election officials who deliver democracy to hundreds of millions every year.
Election Day voting decreased across all regions of the country in 2020. Even in the Northeast, where historically at least 90% of voters showed up to the polling place on a Tuesday in November, more than half of voters chose to vote early or by mail this past year. In the West, which has seen mail voting grow more and more prevalent in the last 25 years, only 10% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day.
Early in-person voting also saw an increase in 2020, though one that is not out of line with historical increases. The American South has long been increasing its use of early voting, and that pattern stayed true in 2020 – almost half of Southern voters chose to vote in-person before Election Day. In 2020 we saw expansions of early voting opportunities in several states, including Kentucky – which previously lacked no-excuse early voting provisions. While there were increases in early voting across all regions compared to previous elections, these increases are of the same scale as we have seen in previous years.
Mail voting showed the most increased use in 2020, across all regions of the U.S. The West continued its heavy adoption of mail voting, with almost 80% of voters casting their ballots by mail. In the other regions of the country, mail voting jumped from about 10% of ballots cast to 25% (in the South) or even 40% (in the Northeast and Midwest). These jumps are massive compared to the historical uses of mail voting in these regions, with the Northeast seeing an almost-sevenfold increase in mail ballot usage.
As the COVID-19 pandemic goes on and more elections are conducted, we’re watching to see whether mail voting continues at as high a rate as it did in 2020. Since non-presidential elections typically see less voter turnout and more Americans are starting to be vaccinated for COVID-19, we might see a decrease in mail voting as a higher proportion of voters feel comfortable returning to the polling place. Additionally, several states have bills in various states of progress to limit opportunities for mail voting. Alternatively, we might see that voters who cast their ballot by mail for the first time in 2020 enjoyed the process and will continue to do so in future elections. Only time will tell, and in full-vote-by-mail Oregon that time is now: ballots for the May 18 Special Election hit mailboxes this week!