New Report Shows How Easy It Is to Vote in Your State
Data Analysis by The Center for Election Innovation and Research
April 12, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – A new report by the nonpartisan nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), How Easy is it to Vote Early in Your State?, was released today, categorizing states as green, yellow or red, depending on the availability of, or barriers to, early and mail voting.
When states offer easy access to mail and early in-person voting options, it not only makes it more convenient for eligible voters, it also improves election integrity, as more voting gets spread out over several days. States considering rolling back these options, by making it harder to request and return a mail ballot or reducing early voting options, are harming both access to the ballot and election security, and going against the trend in both red and blue states.
“The 2020 election cycle was the most secure election in American history,” said David Becker, JD, Executive Director and Founder of CEIR. “Voter lists were more accurate, there were more secure paper ballots, more states audited and recounted those ballots, and there was more scrutiny of the process by the courts, than ever before.”
“In the aftermath of the election, citing the losing candidate’s Big Lie that the election was ‘stolen,’ some legislators are supporting proposals to roll back many of the election reforms that led the 2020 election to be a success—in particular, early and mail voting. These efforts not only could create barriers for eligible voters, but also negatively impact election integrity by concentrating voting on a single day instead of over a longer period, which could hamper efforts to detect fraud or cyber-attacks. Most states are offering ample opportunity to vote by mail or vote early, in-person. States that are not are well behind the vast majority of other states.”
Becker has over 22 years of experience in elections, serving as a senior attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Voting Section in both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, as well as leading the elections team at The Pew Charitable Trusts, prior to founding CEIR. During the last several months, Becker served as CBS News’ election law expert.