Presidential Commission on Election Administration: Absentee and Early Voting: Weighing the Costs of Convenience

Abstract

Absentee and early voting are increasingly popular in the United States. Most states have embraced one of these options to make voting easier. Absentee voting is often marginally more convenient and might be less expensive to administer, but it also carries unique costs in terms of ballot insecurity, higher odds of error and fraud, and a concomitant reduction in public confidence. States intent on making the act of voting easier should prefer in-person early voting to absentee voting, while continuing to focus on improving the experience of Election Day voting.