Chapter 8 Case Study: Oregon’s Vote-by-Mail Experiment

In 1998, Oregon became the first state to implement vote by mail (VBM) for state elections.^[1] While Oregon voters could cast a ballot via mail in many local elections since 1981, their ability to do so in statewide elections was challenged for many years. The state legislature previously passed a law to do so in 1995 that was vetoed by their governor. After previous efforts stalled, voters utilized the initiative to begin utilizing VBM in statewide elections by approving Measure 60 with 69 percent of the vote.^[2]

Rather than having to identify and visit the polling location on Election Day, VBM is one of many convenience voting reforms that states are utilizing. Today, seven additional states and Washington, DC, have joined Oregon in holding all-mail elections.^[3]

VBM is associated with higher rates of voter turnout, and in Oregon, implementing this approach also led to more voters participating in the Beaver State.^[4] Oregon, on average, has one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the country. In the 2022 midterm elections, only 42 percent of eligible voters participated across the country. In Oregon, that number was 62 percent—the highest in the country.^[5]

Not only does Oregon consistently enjoy high voter turnout, but its voting process is secure, with no evidence or reports of fraud—one of the incorrect assumptions or critiques of the approach.^[6] A survey of Oregon voters confirms that it is extremely popular and that most are confident in how elections are run in their state. Voters enjoy it, and conducting elections entirely by mail is actually less expensive than in-person elections or utilizing both in-person and mail options. According to Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, Oregon’s vote-by-mail system is the “gold standard with no widespread fraud to speak of.”^[7]

In the United States, it is largely the responsibility of the states—not the federal government—to administer elections. Some states add additional restrictions, making the voting process more burdensome or unavailable to certain groups of residents, from Jim Crow laws in the American South after the Civil War to current efforts many label “Jim Crow 2.0.” In the other direction, states like Oregon are leading the fight to make it easier to vote. VBM is just one of the many innovations states are exploring to reduce the costs of voting, like early voting and same-day voter registration. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that voter turnout in states that make voting easier is routinely higher.

Critical Thinking Questions

What factors might be associated with why rates of voter participation are so different across the fifty states?

If vote by mail is associated with higher rates of voter turnout, why do more states not change how they run their elections?

If you were in charge, how would you administer an election, or what laws would you put in place to maximize voter turnout?