Institutional Rules Matter, the Case of Massachusetts and Early Voting

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Ben Tafoya
October 21, 2024

Elections in the United States are a shared responsibility of federal, state and local governments. Everything from the U.S. Constitution to local by-laws govern what offices are elected, voter registration rules and regulations and how and when people can vote. Since the states and their localities have so much say over the modes of voting these arrangements vary widely. Voting for the 2024 general election has begun in many states both in-person and vote-by-mail. Due to differing arrangements and demographics, voter turnout varies significantly by state but overall more than 157,000,000 people cast ballots in 2020 and more will do so in 2024.

Some states have recognized the need for experimentation to boost turnout by making voting more convenient. As a close observer of the changes under the law in Massachusetts, several provisions boost turnout and others suppress it depending on the election year and what is to be voted on by the electorate. Before the passage of an election reform bill in 2014, Massachusetts elections were held the traditional way with the overwhelming percentage of votes cast at a local polling station on election day and some small number cast via absentee ballot. The law allowed in-person early voting for state general elections only and that change took place in 2016 and 2018, and significant numbers of voters took advantage of the opportunity.

With the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020 emergency measures were taken to allow for more opportunities to vote early and vote-by-mail. The Presidential Primary was held that year before the public emergency and just over 83% of the vote was cast in-person on election day. The state primary that September allowed for vote-by-mail and 47 percent of voters opted for that method, and 41 percent did the same for the general election in November 2020. The emergency measures on voting passed during this era allowed for the expansion of in-person early voting and vote-by-mail to all state elections including primaries. By 2022, the interest in early voting waned to 7.5 percent of the votes cast in the general election while 37.3 percent chose mail.

In the summer of 2022, the temporary measures for the pandemic era were incorporated into a new law that carries in-person early voting and vote-by-mail forward for future elections. The law also took further steps toward universal voting registration and allowed early voting and vote-by-mail in municipal elections. In Massachusetts election administration is a local responsibility overseen by staff in the 351 cities and towns. The Secretary of the Commonwealth provides oversight to ensure that election officials follow law, regulation, and guidance.

These changes did not come without costs as the growth in the means of voting has created some challenges for city and town clerks and election administrators. Many came into the role under the pre-2014 rules and the cascading waves of changes have made elections a much bigger part of their job than in the past, while their other responsibilities such as vital records and public records have not lessened. Some relief came in the form of an unfunded mandate determination that increased state aid which reimburses the communities for many of the expenses associated with early voting and vote-by-mail. This provides funding for the extra staff required to process requests for ballots, mail ballots, process returned votes and staff early voting locations.

Many communities in Massachusetts hold elections every year as their local elections do not coincide with state elections. It is not unusual in 2024 (a presidential year) for there to be four elections. In the Gubernatorial year, there would be three although cities (50 of the 351 communities) hold local elections in odd-numbered off years. Not surprisingly election officials voice fatigue and tension associated with this workload.

This is a challenge for democracy as the voice of the people is revealed through election results. But inconsistent rules, even after the waves of legislative changes, have an impact on voter turnout. One provision of the law requires the Secretary of the Commonwealth to send a solicitation to voters asking them to return a postcard if they wish to vote by mail before state elections. This led to over 500,000 returned mail ballots for the September 2024 primary, out of a total vote of just over 841,000 in a low-turnout primary with very few contests. If 2020 is a guide, then there will be over 1.25 million mail ballots processed in the upcoming election and presidential election turnout will far surpass that of municipal elections.

While early voting has been extended to local elections for three out of every four years, communities are left on their own as to how they solicit applications for mail votes as the Secretary does not do the mailing required in January of the presidential year. Initial analysis indicates that this will result in lower turnout in municipal elections outside of the quadrennial year demonstrating that rules do make a difference in how and whether people choose to vote. In the busy modern world convenience matters. It is the responsibility of government to make voting easily accessible and with consistent rules to encourage the people’s voice.

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Author: Dr. Ben Tafoya, a retired public administrator, is an adjunct faculty member teaching economics at Northeastern University in Boston. Ben is the author of a chapter on social equity and public Administration in the volume from Birkdale, Public Affairs Practicum. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Threads at bentafoya . All opinions and mistakes are his alone. 

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