Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 18 - 33 |
| Journal | Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy (ELJ) |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 30 Sept 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Mar 2025 |
Abstract
There is a well-established view that exercising the voting right should be as easy as possible, as even minor hurdles can have the effect of excluding voters. In light of these debates, election officials have greatly expanded the options for convenience voting in recent decades, such as providing easier access to a mail ballot. We argue that mail ballots are a double-edged sword. While they make voting more convenient, they are also more difficult to use than in-person ballots as voters have to navigate the additional measures for ensuring the secrecy and security of the ballot. In an effort to realize the best of both worlds, we conduct a systematic review of the European mail voting systems to identify a set of best practices for making voting by mail as easy as possible, while safeguarding the secrecy and security of the vote.
Keywords
- ballot design, convenience voting, election administration, Europe, mail voting
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Law
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In: Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy (ELJ), Vol. 24, No. 1, 06.03.2025, p. 18 - 33.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Implementing the Mail Ballot
T2 - In Search of Best Practices
AU - Nyhuis, Dominic
AU - Harmening, Morten
AU - Münchow, Felix
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright 2024, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
PY - 2025/3/6
Y1 - 2025/3/6
N2 - There is a well-established view that exercising the voting right should be as easy as possible, as even minor hurdles can have the effect of excluding voters. In light of these debates, election officials have greatly expanded the options for convenience voting in recent decades, such as providing easier access to a mail ballot. We argue that mail ballots are a double-edged sword. While they make voting more convenient, they are also more difficult to use than in-person ballots as voters have to navigate the additional measures for ensuring the secrecy and security of the ballot. In an effort to realize the best of both worlds, we conduct a systematic review of the European mail voting systems to identify a set of best practices for making voting by mail as easy as possible, while safeguarding the secrecy and security of the vote.
AB - There is a well-established view that exercising the voting right should be as easy as possible, as even minor hurdles can have the effect of excluding voters. In light of these debates, election officials have greatly expanded the options for convenience voting in recent decades, such as providing easier access to a mail ballot. We argue that mail ballots are a double-edged sword. While they make voting more convenient, they are also more difficult to use than in-person ballots as voters have to navigate the additional measures for ensuring the secrecy and security of the ballot. In an effort to realize the best of both worlds, we conduct a systematic review of the European mail voting systems to identify a set of best practices for making voting by mail as easy as possible, while safeguarding the secrecy and security of the vote.
KW - ballot design
KW - convenience voting
KW - election administration
KW - Europe
KW - mail voting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206895846&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/elj.2024.0005
DO - 10.1089/elj.2024.0005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85206895846
VL - 24
SP - 18
EP - 33
JO - Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy (ELJ)
JF - Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy (ELJ)
SN - 1533-1296
IS - 1
ER -