RAPID: Collaborative Research: The Integrity of Mail Voting

鉴于2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行导致邮寄投票（VBM）的使用增加，调查人员重点关注邮寄选民在如何寻求、获取、完成、返回和清点邮寄选票方面的经验。他们考察了公民对使用VBM的选举完整性的看法，通过评估对VBM制度结构变化的关注，VBM过程的保密性，以及VBM选民可能面临的来自同伴群体的强迫。调查人员采用以州为中心的调查设计，包括在10个拥有混合VBM系统的州进行抽样。抽样很重要，它为州选举管理和法律提供了额外的统计力量和杠杆。该样本仅包括在2020年选举中通过邮件报告投票的注册选民。使用Qualtrics软件进行在线调查。各州登记选民的电子邮件地址将从L2购买。调查人员对40个州的邮寄选民进行了200次在线调查，对10个州的邮寄选民进行了1000次调查，并在每个州进行了100次面对面的调查，总共有23,000人参加了调查。这项研究为关注与邮寄投票相关的选民完整性提供了一个基线。此外，它还确定了不同的邮件投票系统在何时、何地以及由谁完成和返回邮件选票方面是否有所不同。这个项目应该为VBM政策管理的几个领域的学者和决策者提供信息。研究结果亦有助提高市民对国会议员选举程序的信心。这项研究涉及三个合作研究校区的本科生研究人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Given the increase use of vote by mail (VBM) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the investigators focus on mail-in voters' experience with how they seek, obtain, complete, return and have their mail ballots counted. They examine citizens' perceptions about the integrity of elections using VBM by assessing concerns about variation in the institutional structures of VBM, the secrecy of VBM the process, and the coercion that VBM voters may face from their peer group. The investigators use a state-centric survey design that includes an oversample in 10 states that have a mixture of VBM systems. The oversample is important and gives additional statistical power and leverage about state election administration and laws. The sample consist of only registered voters who report voting by mail in the 2020 election. Surveys are solicited online using Qualtrics software. E-mail addresses for registered voters by state will be purchased from L2. The investigators completed 200 online surveys with mail voters in 40 states, and 1,000 with mail voters in 10 states, along with 100 in-person voters in each these states, for a total sample of 23,000. This research provides a baseline for concerns about voter integrity related to mail balloting. Furthermore, it establishes whether alternative mail voting systems differ in terms of when, where, and with whom mail ballots are completed and returned. This project should inform scholars and policy makers in several areas of VBM policy administration. Findings from the study are also valuable in increasing public confidence in VBM election procedures. The research involves undergraduate researchers at all three campuses of the collaborative study.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.