More states join Washington in adopting mail-in voting - Axios SeattleLog InLog InAxios Seattle is an Axios company.

More states follow Washington' s lead in voting by mail

Data: , Axios research; Cartogram: Shoshana Gordon and Jacque Schrag/AxiosMore Washington in adopting automatic, universal mail-in voting — the kind that doesn't require you to think about requesting a ballot. The big picture: Washington has been a leader in voting-by-mail for more than a decade, with state election officials often acting as around the country. Now, those efforts are showing results, with twice as many states voting by mail as did four years ago. Why it matters: Voting by mail, especially when a ballot arrives at your home automatically, is considered than requiring people to show up at a polling place.A by Stanford researchers found that universal mail-in voting increased overall turnout by about 2 percentage points, without giving one party an advantage over another. Youth turnout in particular has been higher since universal vote-by-mail in 2011, . State of play: Washington is now one of eight U.S. states that automatically mail ballots to registered voters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those states, Washington is one of only four that conducted all-mail elections before 2020. The others, along with the District of Columbia, adopted the universal vote-by-mail more recently. Of note: Only predated in setting up universal mail-in voting. Zoom out: Even if many states aren't making mail-in voting quite as easy as Washington, more than half now allow people to request a mail ballot for any reason, rather than requiring a specific excuse, per the National Conference of State Legislatures. What we're watching: Whether more states will switch to universal vote-by-mail systems before the 2024 presidential election. Go deeper: Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

More Seattle stories

No stories could be found Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Seattle.Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.