COVID-19 increased mail-in voting rates dramatically across states.
But during recent elections, over 10% of mailed ballots arrived too late or on Election Day itself in Maine.
Vulnerability to Delivery Delays
* Ballots arriving on Election Day: Highest risk category
* One-day early arrivals: Also prone to rejection due to delivery timing issues
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Partisan Impact
* Non-affiliated and Democratic voters disproportionately affected by delays
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Key Implications
* Despite equal access opportunities, mail-in voting is highly susceptible to partisan advantage through postal service vulnerabilities.
* This highlights a critical vulnerability in vote-by-mail systems reliant on the USPS.
| Postal Delivery Disruptions and the Fragility of Voting by Mail: Lessons from Maine was authored by Michael Herron. It was published by Sage in R&P in 2021. |
