Dropbox Allocation and Use Among Georgia Voters in the 2020 Election

Abstract

Ballot dropboxes provide voters who fill out mail-in ballots with a secure and convenient method for returning their ballot. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of ballot dropboxes increased dramatically as voters sought to cast ballots safely and conveniently. In the wake of the 2020 election, ballot dropboxes have come under considerable scrutiny as many Republican-controlled state legislatures have sought to eliminate them or sharply reduce the number available and/or limit the hours in which they can be used by voters. This article uses novel data on the number of ballots collected in Georgia dropboxes paired with measures of how accessible these dropboxes were to voters in order to analyze how the allocation of dropboxes affected voting behavior in an election where voters could choose to vote in a variety of ways. When controlling for the number of potential users, dropboxes closer in distance to voters are used at higher rates. Individuals located closer to dropboxes are more likely to vote by mail and are less likely to fail to return requested mail-in ballots. Our findings carry important implications for election administrators seeking to make voting accessible by adding additional ballot dropboxes and for administrators seeking to adjust to mandated decreases in the number of dropboxes provided to voters.