The success of a pilot test in a Nebraska county in which all people have the option to vote by mail has spurred the initiative in three more counties there.
Turnout in Garden County for the May 15, 2018 primary, with an all-mail vote option, was more than 58 percent.
Now, Dawes, Merrick and Morrill counties in Nebraska have been approved for all-mail voting for the election slated for next month, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Factors that may keep people from going to physical polls include site accessibility, amount of poll workers available from three political parties and community feedback, the Associated Press reports.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 22 states have provisions allowing some elections to be done by all-mail voting. Three entire states — Colorado, Washington and Oregon — provide all-mail voting.
In the 2014 election in Colorado, the vote-at-home option increased turnout by 3.3 percent, research shows. It was up among people with a history of low turnout.
Vote-by-mail
• Ballots are mailed to all registered voters well ahead of Election Day
• In-person voting is still an option at polls prior to or on the day of Election Day
