Facts about mail-in ballots

The Nation -  Here’s the facts to counter the lies about mail ballots, whether you think of them as absentee voting, vote by mail, or vote at home.

First: It’s nothing new. Mail-in voting began in the Civil War as a way to ensure that the soldiers who were fighting for the future of their country could have a say in who would be leading it. In the 1864 election, almost all of the union states adopted absentee voting for soldiers, much of which used mail-in ballots. The idea was simple: If you are willing to risk your life for democracy, you should be able to participate in it. It’s still the case today, when mail-in ballots are how military members and their families vote. If it’s good enough and secure enough for them, shouldn’t it be for everyone?

Second: This isn’t a partisan issue. Republicans, Democrats, and independents all use mail-in ballots. What studies do show is that easier access to mail ballots leads to higher turnout, without tilting the scales. In 2020, states that automatically delivered a ballot to every eligible voter had an average increase in voter turnout of 5 percent. States that increased access to mail ballots between 2018 and 2022 saw an increase in turnout by disabled voters of 5.3 percent. States with universal Vote-at-Home systems that automatically deliver a ballot to every active registered voter, for every election, have consistently higher turnout, year after year, election after election.

Third: Fraud? Nope. The Heritage Foundation maintains a national database of election fraud cases. Over decades, among billions of ballots cast, it has found only a handful of instances involving mail ballots—a rate so close to zero that it rounds down. Why? Because mail voting has multiple layers of security: Every ballot is tied to an individual voter with a unique barcode, signatures are verified, and ballots are tracked at every stage. The “ballot stuffing” myth is just that, and belongs in the same category as flat-earth theory.

Fourth: Too costly? Just the opposite. When Colorado transitioned to a universal Vote-at-Home system, election costs dropped by 30–40 percent. That’s fewer polling places, less staffing, and lower logistical overhead.

Finally: The assaults on mail ballots are about power and participation, and who gets to have it. Mail ballots are not partisan. They’re not experimental. They’re not dangerous. They’re safe, accessible, inclusive, and deeply American. Voting at home doesn’t undermine democracy; it delivers democracy, one voter at a time.