Absentee Ballots Research Articles

Democracy in distress? Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on voter behavior in the 2020 general election in the Greater Boston Area

The conditions of a highly anticipated election during the COVID-19 pandemic present an opportunity to further understand how voting accessibility influenced voting behavior in the 2020 United States general election. At the time of the election, nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as wearing a facemask, physical distancing, and crowd avoidance, were the primary defenses against contracting and spreading the virus. In response to the pandemic, several states enacted emergency voting laws that extended early voting days, loosened restrictions on acquiring an absentee ballot, and provided accessible ballot drop-off locations to reduce health and safety barriers to voters during the pandemic. This study uses a mixed methods design to investigate the motivating factors of voting behavior among Democrat and Independent voters in the Greater Boston Area in the 2020 general election. Based on data from an original survey of 169 individuals and 56 follow-up interviews conducted in early 2021, we find that the predicted probability of being a convenience voter (voting by mail, early voting, ballot drop box, or dropping their ballot at their polling location) goes from 50 % (p < .001) among those who did not express safety concerns related to voting to 82 % (p < .0001), an increase of 32 %. These findings were further triangulated in follow-up interviews with the survey participants. In our follow-up interviews, we also found that electoral integrity was a concern among both traditional and convenience voters; many individuals made a plan to vote in person, vote early, or drop their ballot off at a polling site or drop box to ensure their vote was counted. More broadly, the implications of this research place importance on state election law and election administration in a time of crisis. We expect that in a future crisis, such as a natural disaster or disease outbreak, convenience voting such as extended early voting options, ballot drop boxes, and relaxed restrictions around absentee voting options, may reduce barriers to voting experienced during uncertain or unsafe conditions and facilitate institutional certainty.

A Tension: Fortifying Usability While Safeguarding Voter Independence in Military Voting Solutions

Absentee voting presents a unique challenge for U.S. uniformed service members, as they often struggle to request and return absentee ballots while deployed, sometimes stationed far from their registered voting area. This research evaluates the usability of a proposed absentee voting system for military voters, which allows instant ballot requests and enables voters to verify their own votes, focusing on whether the user interface supports effective use among military personnel. Our evaluation revealed that military voters frequently relied on external assistance to navigate the electronic voting system, revealing opportunities for its improvement and design recommendations to facilitate absentee voting for U.S. military personnel.

20 Threats and Defenses for Absentee Ballots and Other Election Procedures

20 Threats and Defenses for Absentee Ballots and Other Election Procedures

Empowering Democracy: A Robust and Secure Online Election System

Every democracy and organization’s hallmark are the voting system. The absentee ballot which India has been using have proved to be defective and even ineffective since they require a large manpower, taking longer processing time for the publication of results. Accordingly, to eliminate such flaws from the system, these amendments are implemented in the systems that could circumvent these considerable disadvantages. Physical presence as a criterion is also eliminated by the new method, hence decreasing overall complexity. The country has been undergoing significant changes since 2014 especially the use of online voting to control and manage elections. The system may help to achieve a better performance and enhance the overall voter numbers. On the one hand, it has a positive side in terms of protecting privacy and providing authentic information. The primary points describing security include minimization emerges as everyone’s motive. In our research paper, we conducted an analysis of this system that involves three stages of authentication for guaranteeing the reliability and validity are utilized in the entire voting procedure. A process begins with voter card verification, then comes the second and third level- Aadhar verification and face verification respectively.

Political Priorities, Voting, and Political Action Committee Engagement of Emergency Medicine Trainees: A National Survey.

Medicine is increasingly influenced by politics, but physicians have historically had lower voter turnout than the general public. Turnout is even lower for younger voters. Little is known about the political interests, voting activity, or political action committee (PAC) involvement of emergency physicians in training. We evaluated EM trainees' political priorities, use of and barriers to voting, and engagement with an emergency medicine (EM) PAC. Resident/medical student Emergency Medicine Residents' Association members were emailed a survey between October-November 2018. Questions involved political priorities, perspective on single-payer healthcare, voting knowledge/behavior, and EM PACs participation. We analyzed data using descriptive statistics. Survey participants included 1,241 fully responding medical students and residents, with a calculated response rate of 20%. The top three healthcare priorities were as follows: 1) high cost of healthcare/price transparency; 2) decreasing the number of uninsured; and 3) quality of health insurance. The top EM-specific issue was ED crowding and boarding. Most trainees (70%) were supportive of single-payer healthcare: "somewhat favor" (36%) and "strongly favor" (34%). Trainees had high rates of voting in presidential elections (89%) but less frequent use of other voting options: 54% absentee ballots; 56% voting in state primary races; and 38% early voting. Over half (66%) missed voting in prior elections, with work cited as the most frequent (70%) barrier. While overall, half of respondents (62%) reported awareness of EM PACs, only 4% of respondents had contributed. The high cost of healthcare was the top concern among EM trainees. Survey respondents had a high level of knowledge of absentee and early voting but less frequently used these options. Encouragement of early and absentee voting can improve voter turnout of EM trainees. Concerning EM PACs, there is significant room for membership growth. With improved knowledge of the political priorities of EM trainees, physician organizations and PACs can better engage future physicians.

234 Pages of Sworn Affidavits: Legalism Without Politics in the Attempt to Overthrow the 2020 Election

The lawsuits challenging the 2020 election tried and failed to overturn the results of the election. This article positions their contribution to constitutional decay by considering the affidavits filed by Republican election challengers who observed the processing of absentee ballots in Detroit. Using the concepts of legal consciousness and legal mobilization, this article traces the mechanisms that carried doubts about the election processes from politics to law, returning that doubt as legally acknowledged truth that could be deployed in ongoing politics. Features of the affidavits allowed the voter fraud narrative to borrow a legal concept seemingly detached from politics. Given that constitutional theories recognize strict legality as a tool of authoritarians, this article considers the affidavits’ use as a legal and political tool, indicating particular ways that it can be wielded for antidemocratic purposes.

PENGEMBANGAN SISTEM INFORMASI ABSENSI KARYAWAN BERBASIS RFID 125 KHZ MENGGUNAKAN METODE AGILE DEVELOPMENT PADA PT. SANLY INDUSTRIES

The application of absences from work that occurred at PT. Sanly Industries, which has been happening during the pandemic, is still being carried out in each department by a staff. Absenteeism and overtime recording are still manual, and salary summaries are manual. The employee database is not provided with Microsoft Excel, which causes some problems that the system encounters in the company. In addition, handwritten absentee ballots are easily damaged, easily messed up, easily lost, easily damaged, and easily soiled. His RFID-Based Absence with RFID Reader is an alternative for Writers to overcome the problem of absence in the enterprise by using an interface Design using PHP and integrating with a MySQL database. We develop an absence information system using Agile Development methods. The development of this information system supports the processing of employee absences and is integrated with RFID cards that can be used as employee ID cards. The system speeds up the process of reimbursement of absences to help make the payroll process more effective and efficient, making issues related to the payroll process easier and more profitable.

Native American Voting Rights in Utah: Federal Policy, Citizenship, and Voter Suppression

Native American Voting Rights in Utah: Federal Policy, Citizenship, and Voter Suppression

Identifying Possible Winners in Ranked Choice Voting Elections with Outstanding Ballots

Several election districts in the US have recently moved to ranked-choice voting (RCV) to decide the results of local elections. RCV allows voters to rank their choices, and the results are computed in rounds, eliminating one candidate at a time. RCV ensures fairer elections and has been shown to increase elected representation of women and people of color. A main drawback of RCV is that the round-by-round process requires all the ballots to be tallied before the results of an election can be calculated. With increasingly large portions of ballots coming from absentee voters, RCV election outcomes are not always apparent on election night, and can take several weeks to be published, leading to a loss of trust in the electoral process from the public. In this paper, we present an algorithm for efficiently computing possible winners of RCV elections from partially known ballots and evaluate it on data from the recent New York City Primary elections. We show that our techniques allow to significantly narrow down the field of possible election winners, and in some case identify the winner as soon as election night despite a number of yet-unaccounted absentee ballots, providing more transparency in the electoral process.

Local elections in the European Union and Ukraine: comparative characteristics

The article provides a comparative analysis of the electoral legislation of the EU countries and Ukraine at the local level and on the basis of this analysis, the proposals to improve the electoral legislation of Ukraine take into account the experience of the European Union.&#x0D; The main forms of direct democracy in most EU member countries and Ukraine are fixed at the constitutional level, and the procedure of preparing and holding elections is regulated by special election laws. Domestic electoral legislation is overloaded with detailed norms of procedural aspects, unlike the legislation of EU countries, in which much more attention is paid to the issues of transparency of party financial funds and transparency of election campaign financing, as well as protection of national minorities’ interests.&#x0D; The main ways of exercising the right to vote not at the place of inclusion in the voter lists in the EU member states were characterized: voting by absentee ballots at specially designated polling stations, voting on the territory of diplomatic and consular missions, voting by mail, proxy voting, mobile voting, voting via the Internet, distance voting. It is noted that the norms in which the institution of a cash deposit is enshrined are discriminatory since they violate the principle of equality of suffrage and create a situation in which candidates are excluded from the political arena on the basis of the property criterion.&#x0D; Relevant for EU countries is the adoption of measures to create appropriate conditions for the full implementation of the principle of equality of citizens before the law, in particular, to overcome the actual inequality of opportunities between women and men.&#x0D; In order to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with international standards set by the European Union, we propose: to grant the right to vote in local elections to citizens of other states or stateless persons who permanently reside on the territory of the respective territorial community and permanently pay local taxes and fees have common local interests related to everyday life, infrastructure, communication, recreation; to introduce electronic voting; not to apply the institution of cash deposit at the local level; to introduce individual (party) gender quotas, following the French example.

Review: Whitelash: Unmasking White Grievance at the Ballot Box, by Terry Smith

Book Review| April 01 2022 Review: Whitelash: Unmasking White Grievance at the Ballot Box, by Terry Smith Whitelash: Unmasking White Grievance at the Ballot Box, by Terry Smith. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2020. 300 pp. $24.99 (paper). ISBN: 9781108445467. Gbemende Johnson Gbemende Johnson Hamilton College Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar National Review of Black Politics (2022) 3 (1-2): 51–54. https://doi.org/10.1525/nrbp.2022.3.1-2.51 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Gbemende Johnson; Review: Whitelash: Unmasking White Grievance at the Ballot Box, by Terry Smith. National Review of Black Politics 1 April 2022; 3 (1-2): 51–54. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/nrbp.2022.3.1-2.51 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentNational Review of Black Politics Search After the 2020 presidential election, multiple states passed laws placing additional requirements and restrictions on access to the ballot, including increased voter identification requirements and absentee ballot restrictions. While these laws appeared race-neutral, observers argued that the goal of these laws was to reduce turnout among voters of color, who are more likely to cast their ballot for Democratic candidates. Optimally, laws that intentionally discriminate against populations based on race would fall in face of legal challenges. However, what if members of the public cast votes with racial animus against certain groups? Should there be a remedy to address such behavior and, if so, what should that remedy be? Also, should elected officials who use appeals that denigrate racial groups be held to similar standards as employers who engage in discriminatory behavior toward their employees? These are a few of the central questions that motivate Terry Smith’s discussion in Whitelash:... You do not currently have access to this content.

Responses to Eggers and Grimmer’s claims regarding "Simple tests for the extent of vote fraud with absentee and provisional ballots in the 2020 US presidential election"

Responses to Eggers and Grimmer’s claims regarding "Simple tests for the extent of vote fraud with absentee and provisional ballots in the 2020 US presidential election"

Emergency Absentee Voting for Hospitalized Patients and Voting During COVID-19: A 50-State Study.

IntroductionVoters facing illness or disability are disproportionately under-represented in terms of voter turnout. Earlier research has indicated that enfranchisement of these populations may reinforce the implementation of policies improving health outcomes and equity. Due to the confluence of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the 2020 election, we aimed to assess emergency absentee voting processes, which allow voters hospitalized after regular absentee deadlines to still obtain an absentee ballot, and election changes due to COVID-19 in all 50 states.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study collecting 34 variables pertaining to emergency voting processes and COVID-19-related election changes, including deadlines, methods of submission for applications and ballots, and specialized services for patients. Data were obtained from, in order of priority, state boards of elections websites, poll worker manuals, application forms, and state legislation. We verified all data through direct correspondence with state boards of elections.ResultsEmergency absentee voting processes are in place in 39 states, with the remaining states having universal vote-by-mail (n = 5) or extended regular absentee voting deadlines (n = 6). The emergency absentee period most commonly began within 24 hours following the normal absentee application deadline, which was often seven days before an election (n = 11). Unique aspects of emergency voting processes included patients designating an “authorized agent” to deliver their applications and ballots (n = 38), electronic ballot delivery (n = 5), and in-person teams that deliver ballots directly to patients (n = 18). Documented barriers in these processes nationwide include unavailable online information (n = 11), restrictions mandating agents to be family members (n = 7), physician affidavits or signatures (n = 9), and notary or witness signature requirements (n = 15). For the November 2020 presidential election, 12 states expanded absentee eligibility to allow COVID-19 as a reason to request an absentee ballot, and 18 states mailed absentee ballot applications or absentee ballots to all registered voters.ConclusionWhile 39 states operate emergency absentee voting processes for hospitalized voters, there are considerable areas for improvement and heterogeneity in guidelines for these protocols. For future election cycles, information on emergency voting and broader election reforms due to COVID-19 may be useful for emergency providers and patients alike to improve the democratic participation of voters experiencing illness.

Changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same: Absentee voting and public health

AbstractObjectiveThis article examines how the rapid spread of COVID‐19 and political discourse framed absentee ballots as a solution to keep voters safe or a threat to the election's integrity. Did the increased attention to the use of absentee ballots in our elections encourage more people to participate absentee and support changes in Texas's election code to allow no‐excuse absentee voting?MethodsFour surveys of Texas voters were conducted in April, June, September, and October to track voter attitudes about absentee voting during the election.ResultsVoters who were uncomfortable voting in person were more likely to vote absentee and support new reforms. However, voters exposed to messages by elected officials who negatively portrayed the use of absentee voting were less likely to vote absentee during the pandemic and more likely to oppose new reforms.ConclusionDespite the predicted effects of political information, the public's consideration of the health of others create a significant and lasting effect favoring the acceptance of expanding absentee ballots in a state with no‐excuse absentee voting.

Why Do Most Countries Require Photo Voter IDs?: They Have Seen Massive Vote Fraud Problems

Americans keep hearing that there is no need to protect against vote fraud, that fraud is either non-existent or extremely rare. We hear that regulations, such as photo voter IDs, are unnecessary and will disenfranchise voters. Yet, the United States is not unique in having this debate. Virtually all of Europe and almost all developed countries require in-person voters to use photo IDs to vote. Indeed, out of Europe’s 47-countries, only the United Kingdom hasn’t required photo IDs to vote in their entire country, but that is about to change. Similar in-person rules exist for most developed countries. The vast majority of countries ban absentee ballots for people living in their country. While some point out that eight of Europe’s 47-countries allow for proxy voting, where you can designate someone to vote on your behalf, the safe-guards used to prevent fraud are generally far more stringent than used for absentee ballots in the US. Other countries have discovered widespread voter fraud when safeguards are not used. They also understand that relying on conviction counts is unlikely to catch the vast majority of fraud that occurs. The question is: why is the US so unique in terms of not guarding against vote fraud?

The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 Election

The 2020 election was both a miracle and a tragedy. In the midst of a pandemic, election administrators pulled off a safe, secure, and professional election. Still, lies of voter fraud have cemented in the minds of tens of millions of Americans that the election was rigged. As the first wave of the pandemic overtook the nation right as the presidential election season was beginning, most states responded by delaying their primaries and maximizing opportunities to vote by mail. We review how the quick actions of many states led to salvaging of the primary season, but also led to two cautionary tales, from Wisconsin and New York, that illustrated the disasters that could befall both mail and in-person voters if the nation did not act quickly. We recount the combination of actions taken by governors, state legislators, health officials, judges, and civil society to adapt election administration to the exigent realities of the pandemic and to cope with the logistical challenges state and local election officials faced. We discuss metrics of success in the adaptations that took place — record-high turnout, widespread voter satisfaction, a doubling of mail voting without a concomitant increase in problems often associated with absentee ballots, and the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of new poll workers. We also explore how the competing narrative of dysfunction and a “stolen election,” propagated by President Trump and his supporters, led not only to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 1, but also to a historically deep chasm at the mass level between partisans in their trust of the election process and outcome. We conclude by noting that many states will be considering legislation that re-litigates the election by addressing non-problems, rather than building on the triumphs of the election.

Examining Pediatric Residency Voting Practices.

Voting is one of our civic duties, yet many Americans do not vote, and physician voter participation is even lower than that of the general public. We aimed to explore pediatric residents' attitudes and behaviors in regard to voting and assess the impact of interventions aimed at increasing resident participation. Pediatric residents were given preelection surveys regarding interest in voting, plans to vote in the November 2016 national election, and barriers to participation. Voting registration, election dates, and registration deadlines were disseminated before the election. Postelection surveys were distributed after the 2016 national election to pediatric residents regarding their voter participation, barriers to voting, and the effectiveness of our interventions. Fifty-one residents completed the presurvey and 49 completed the postsurvey (61% and 59% of total residents, respectively). Eighty-nine percent of residents surveyed planned to vote and 83% were registered to vote. The postsurveys indicated that only 69% of responding residents voted in the national election, far fewer than the 89% who planned to vote (z = 2.5, P < 0.05). The most common reasons for not voting were "no time off," "didn't get absentee ballot," and "not registered in state of residence." In total, 19 of 33 (58%) respondents indicated that interventions encouraged them to vote. Intention to vote among participants was higher than voting participation; however, participants in this study voted at higher rates (69%) than the average citizen rates (61.4%). More than half of the residents who did vote indicated that the study interventions encouraged them to vote.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and His Court: The One Ballot Drop-Off Site Per County Case

In Abbott v. Anti-Defamation League, Common Cause, and Robert Knetsch, the Texas Supreme Court sided with Republican Governor Greg Abbott in a legal challenge to his order reducing the number of drop-off sites for mail ballots during the early voting period of the 2020 general elections to just 1 per county regardless of the county’s population and geographic size. Counties in Texas range in population between a few hundred to several millions.The lower courts had ruled for the plaintiffs and enjoined Abbott's reduction order, but the all-Republican high court reversed and used the occasion to greenlight Abbott’s use of emergency power for non-disaster purposes in denigration of express statutory restrictions.Abbott v. Anti-Defamation League Austin, Southwest, and Texoma Regions, No. 20-0846, 2020 WL 6295076 (Tex. Oct. 27, 2020) (per curiam) (rejecting state constitutional and ultra-vires challenge to proclamation issued pursuant to gubernatorial emergency powers under Chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code in interlocutory appeal of temporary injunction against Governor and Secretary of State). It was the third time in the 2020 election season that the all-Republican high court ruled against Texas voters. This time the SCOTX decision came at the expense of vulnerable citizens: older and disabled voters entitled to case absentee ballots. In a prior legal challenge to Abbott’s exercise of pandemic powers under the Texas Disaster Act, one brought by Harris County misdemeanor judges in April against an order that interfered with the judges’ authority to set bail and grant release, the Court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing and vacated a restraining order against the Governor on that basis. See In re Greg Abbott, No. 20-0291, 601 S.W.3d 602 (Tex. Apr. 23, 2020)(orig. proc.). In Abbott v. Anti-Defamation League, by contrast, the Court skipped the question of standing and issued a precedent-setting decision on the merits, through which it blessed an expansionist notion of gubernatorial emergency powers. This article offers a critique encompassing (1) the Texas High Court's procedural handling of the Attorney General's appeal of the injunction against Abbott; (2) the Court's undue reliance on an opinion by a Fifth Circuit panel consisting of three Trump appointees in a similar challenge brought by LULAC and other advocacy organizations based on federal constitutional law, and (3) the Texas Court's cursory treatment of the plaintiffs' ultra-vires challenge to Governor Abbott's use of emergency powers under Texas Disaster Act, and the ominous ramifications of the newly created precedent. CITE for the federal case: Texas League of United Latin American Citizens v. Ruth Hughs, No. 20-50867, 2020 WL 6023310 (5th Cir. Oct. 12, 2020)(“We agree with the Secretary and grant the stay.”)(Motions panel opinion by Duncan, concurrency by Ho). Defendant Governor Abbott was dismissed from the underlying federal district court cases on Eleventh Amendment immunity grounds. STATUTORY BASIS for emergency powers in Texas: Tex. Government Code Chapter 418, titled Emergency Management (Texas Disaster Act of 1975).

Voting in a Pandemic: Explaining Variation in Support for Absentee Ballots for All

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed all aspects of American life, including, for many, how we vote. We explore the question of who supports unrestricted absentee ballots during a pandemic. We argue that women are more likely to support absentee ballots because they allow for greater flexibility and minimize the potential for exposure. We test this theory using the National Panel Study of COVID-19 (n = 1,892), which asked respondents about their preferences for absentee ballots, their worry about the coronavirus, and their household composition. Using multinomial logistic regressions, we find that women are more likely to support allowing absentee ballots compared with more restrictive voting options and are more likely to say they support absentee ballots for all if they know someone who has contracted COVID-19. The policy implications for these findings are discussed along with other sociodemographic indicators in our analysis.

Why Do Most Countries Ban Mail-In Ballots?: They Have Seen Massive Vote Fraud Problems

Thirty-seven states have so far changed their mail-in voting procedures this year in response to the Coronavirus. Despite frequent claims that President Trump’s warning about vote fraud/voting buying with mail-in ballots is “baselessly” or “without evidence” about mail-in vote fraud, there are numerous examples of vote fraud and vote buying with mail-in ballots in the United States and across the world. Indeed, concerns over vote fraud and vote buying with mail-in ballots causes the vast majority of countries to ban mail-in voting unless the citizen is living abroad. There are fraud problems with mail-in absentee ballots but the problems with universal mail-in ballots are much more significant. Still most countries ban even absentee ballots for people living in their countries.Most developed countries ban absentee ballots unless the citizen is living abroad or require Photo-IDs to obtain those ballots. Even higher percentages of European Union or other European countries ban absentee for in country voters. In addition, some countries that allow voting by mail for citizens living the country don’t allow it for everyone. For example, Japan and Poland have limited mail-in voting to those who have special certificates verifying that they are disabled. France has made an exception this year to the ban on absentee ballots to those who are sick or at particular risk during the Coronavirus pandemic. Poland and two cities in Russia have adopted mail-in ballots for elections this year only, but most countries haven't changed their regulations. France banned absentee voting in 1975 because of massive fraud in Corsica, where postal ballots were stolen or bought and voters cast multiple votes. Mail-in ballots were used to cast the votes of dead people. Examples for other countries are provided.