Toward a Better Understanding of Mail Balloting: The Case of U.S. Labor Union-Representation Elections

The issue of how people vote in elections is important and timely. This Article examines this issue from the perspective of whether people vote by mail—i.e., mail balloting—or in person on a designated election day—i.e., in-person voting. It explores the pros and cons of mail balloting versus in-person voting from a general political perspective and in the context of elections for labor union representation in the United States. It presents heretofore unreported data on the use of mail balloting in union-representation elections.

It then draws lessons from these data concerning how mail balloting—which has increased in use since the COVID-19 pandemic—potentially impacts, among other things, voter participation rates, election integrity, and election outcomes.