WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING MORE ABSENTEE VOTINGMAY 13, 2020
SPEAKERS
Amber McReynolds, Vote at Home
Mark Braden, BakerHostetler
Chairman Ben Hovland, U.S. Election Assistance Commission
HOUSEKEEPING
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Delivering & Strengthening Democracy
Amber McReynolds | CEONational Vote at Home Institute @VoteAtHome | VoteAtHome.org@AmberMcReynolds
The time to act is now
Ensure every voter can vote in a safe, secure, accessible, & equitable way
Decisive & immediate action
Political leadership & will
We are unique in our work to….
Advise Advise Governors & top officials on the high-level strategy & plan.
Provide Provide guidance to policymakers on how best to structure laws & regulations.
Train Train election officials & advise on best practices.
Support Support states with implementation.
Step 1: Excuse required
Step 2: Excuse required with age waiver
Step 3: No excuse required
Step 4: No Excuse, permanent mail
ballot option
Step 5: Vote at Home
Transitioning from step 1 or 2 to 3
Vote at Home Status by State – May 2020(does not reflect what appears to be temporary COVID-19 policy)
States with blended policies in the Step 3 – 4 –5 range.
UT 100% VAH in 2019HI 100% in 2020CA changing for Nov. 2020. Could drop back to transitioning to 5 after.
NE has 11 counties on 100% VAH for 2020
ND has 30 counties using 100% mailed-out ballot voting
OH sends absentee request forms to all 8M voters, for some elections
MI, MN & PA have a permanent absentee list, but periodically send request forms, not ballots, to voters
AL, KS, & WI offer permanent absentee status to voters with disabilities
DC offers Step 4 to its voters
We need your help to continue, and to accelerate, this trend to more Americans voting other than on Election Day
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Percentage of US electorate versus choice of voting method
Election Day Mail/absentee Early, in person
Sources: 1992-2016:: MIT Election Lab. 2018: PEW Research
53%50%
47% 46% 45%43%
40% 39% 38% 38%36% 35%
33%31% 30% 29% 29% 28% 28%
26% 26% 26% 25% 24% 23% 23%
-5%
5%
15%
25%
35%
45%
55%
CO WA WI CA NH AZ VT NE WY UT MA MI AL NC FL OK MS AK AR MN ID IL TX TN OH MO
2020 Primary Turnout* as of 5/13
*Percentage of state-reported active registered voters.SC & VA not included since they do not capture party affiliation and were only running a D primary. So there is no way to determine the denominator.
~100% Vote at Home >66% Vote by mailed-out ballot Predominately polling place
Note: CO denominator adjusted from state data to just include “active” registered voters, as is used in all other states reporting
The higher the use of mailed-out ballots, the lower the gap for disabled voter participation
This is not easy….
We have suggested creative ways for states to scale: Centralize outbound mail ballot process One vendor for the entire state in a coordinated
way Georgia Maryland
Centralize inbound mail ballot process Central or regional processing centers Reduces amount of equipment needed Increases transparency Mitigates risks with human resources in so many
counties
Resources:
• Reference Library• Strategy Plan• Timeline – produced by CISA• Center for Civic Design’s Toolkit• Myths• Equity brief• 50 State Policy Plan – To be Released 5/13/2020
Mark Braden
• Of Counsel, BakerHostetler
• Former Chief Counsel for the Republican National Committee
Ben Hovland, Chairman
The U.S. Elect ion Assistance Commissionand COVID-19 Response
U.S. Election Assistance Commission | www.eac.gov
EAC Resources
Virtual Public Hearing - Election Response to COVID-19: Administering Elections During the Coronavirus Crisis• Addressed expanded absentee/by mail
voting and considerations for in-person voting
EAC.gov/coronavirus• Absentee and mail voting resources• Manufacturer cleaning guidance for
election equipment• 2020 CARES Act grant funding• using HAVA funds for COVID-19 response• poll worker resources
U.S. Election Assistance Commission | www.eac.gov
EAC Video Series
• Features interviews with state and local election officials, representatives from federal agencies, and other experts.
Topics include:• Planning For Increased Vote By Mail Capacity• Improving Communications for Increased
Voting by Mail/Absentee Voting• Handling Increased Absentee and Mail
Voting at the County Level• Handling Absentee Ballot Requests for
Increased Voting by Mail• Emergency Election Laws and COVID-19
U.S. Election Assistance Commission | www.eac.gov
COVID-19 Working Group Resources
Elections Infrastructure GCC/SCC Joint COVID Working Group • Documents provide guidance for
state, local, tribal, and territorial election officials on how to administer and secure election infrastructure in light of the COVID-19 epidemic
• All products were developed in coordination with election officials, non-profits, and the private sector, and were approved by the executive committees of the GCC and SCC.
Documents include:• Vote By Mail/Absentee Voting Timeline• The Importance of Accurate Voter Data When
Expanding Absentee or Mail Ballot Voting• Helping Voters to Request a Mail-in Ballot• Managing an Increase in Outbound Ballots• The Inbound Ballot Process• Election Education and Outreach for Increased
Absentee or Mail Voting• Electronic Ballot Delivery and Marking• Ballot Drop Boxes• Signature Verification and Cure Process
Coming Soon• Finding Voting Locations and Poll Workers• Health and Safety at the Polling Place• Modifying the Scale of In-Person Voting• Innovative Practices and New Solutions
HAWAII
NEW JERSEYCONNECTICUT
WASHINGTON
MONTANA NORTHDAKOTA MINNESOTA
OREGON
IDAHO
WYOMING
NEBRASKA
SOUTH DAKOTA WISCONSINMICHIGAN
VERMONT MAINE
NEW HAMPSHIREMASSACHUSETTS
RHODE ISLAND
CALIFORNIA
NEVADA
UTAH
COLORADO
KANSAS
IOWA
ILLINOIS
MISSOURI
ARKANSASTENNESSEE
KENTUCKY
INDIANA
OHIOPENNSYLVANIA
ARIZONA NEWMEXICO
TEXASLOUISIANA
MISSISSIPPI
OKLAHOMA
GEORGIAALABAMA
FLORIDA
SOUTHCAROLINA
NORTH CAROLINA
VIRGINIA
WESTVIRGINIA MARYLAND
DELAWARE
■ $3.0m ■ $3.1m-9.9m ■ $10m-$19.9m ■ $20m-$36.3m
Supplemental federal share of HAVA funding in the CARES Act, by state
The CARES Act allocates $400 million in new HAVA funds, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 for the 2020 federal election cycle.
MD - $7.4m
MA - $8.3m
RI - $3.0m
CT - $5.4m
DC - $3.0m
DE - $3.0m
NJ - $10.3m
$8.3m
$5.6m
$36.3m
4.5m
$3.9m
$4.3m$6.7m
$7.8m
$3.3m
$3.0m
$3.0m
$3.0m
$4.6m
$3.4m
$3.0m
$3.0m
ALASKA
$3.7m
$5.5m
$24.4m
$6.9m
$4.8m
$4.7m
$7.6m
$6.2m
$4.7m$6.5m
$10.8m
$20.2m
$6.3m
$10.9m$7.9m
$6.1m
$7.3m
$13.9m $8.0m
$12.8m
$11.2m
$3.8m
$14.2m
$3.3m
$9.5m
$3.0m
VT - $3.0m
NH - $3.3m
2020 CARES Act Election Funds
Sources: US Election Assistance Commission.
19
UPCOMING EVENTS IN THIS SERIES
May 20: Moving to All-Mail Elections: Promises and Challenges
May 27: Let’s Talk About Voting Outside the Polling Place (on Zoom)
Register here https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/voting-outside-the-polling-place-webinar-series.aspx
Questions?
Amber McReynolds: [email protected] Braden: [email protected]
Commissioner Hovland: [email protected]
NCSL Contacts:Wendy Underhill: [email protected]
Brian Hinkle: [email protected]
