FILE-A woman inserts the ballot into an official ballot drop box as citizens cast their vote for presidential and congressional elections at the Department of Elections in the City Hall of San Francisco, California in 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/An
Voters showed a preference for early in-person voting and the use of mail-in ballots in the 2024 election, a new report shows.
Early voting and mail-in ballots rise in last year’s election
Why you should care:
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission released a report using data gathered at the local level and provided by states that highlights the popularity of alternative voting practices even as they have been criticized in recent years by some Republicans.
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Citing the report, the Associated Press noted that 158 million ballots were counted for the November 2024 presidential election. Additionally, voter turnout was 3 percentage points lower than in 2020 but nearly 4 percentage points higher than during the 2016 presidential election.
Mail voting is popular despite rhetoric
Dig deeper:
About 30% of voters in 2024 used a mail ballot, a drop from the 43% who did so during the pandemic election in 2020 but higher than pre-pandemic elections, when mail ballots accounted for about 25% of votes cast.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission report found that four states – Washington, Indiana, South Dakota and Utah — had higher percentages of mail voting in 2024 than four years earlier.
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President Donald Trump has complained that mail voting opens a path to fraud. Trump signed an election executive order in March, which is facing several lawsuits, targeting mail voting by stating all ballots must be received by Election Day.
According to the Associated Press, there are 18 states and Puerto Rico that accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked on or before that date.
Oregon and Washington filed their own lawsuit against Trump’s order, concerned that most of their voters could be disenfranchised if the order is allowed to stand.
The popularity of early in-person voting grows
By the numbers:
According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission report, the 2024 presidential election experienced a decline in Election Day voting and an increase in early, in-person voting.
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The report reveals that Election Day voting fell from 49% in 2022 to roughly 37% in 2024, when 35% of constituents voted early. South Carolina and Delaware saw the largest growth in early, in-person voting compared to 2020.
Ballot drop boxes are used in areas where they are permitted
Local perspective:
The report showed that drop boxes were used in 35 states and Washington, D.C. in 2024. Approximately 21 states reported a total of almost 15 million mail ballots returned with the use of a drop box, accounting for about 45% of all mail ballots returned by voters.
Moreover, four states reported double-digit increases in the percentage of mail ballots returned at drop boxes: California, Kansas, Utah, and Nevada.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which cites data from a report released by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.