10.7910/DVN/B6HQJ7 McGhee, Eric Eric McGhee Public Policy Institute of California Harvard Dataverse 2022 Social Sciences elections election administration election science vote by mail turnout 2020 presidential election McGhee, Eric Eric McGhee Public Policy Institute of California 2022-01-11 2022-02-22 17012 14364 20183 57923 2950919 1634130 805412 11837551 3604480 1740091 24077266 140 96075776 558039040 255161312 450560 22009936 18747008 207 15805612 96247808 6267688 552569 20752892 4278548 3579097 659 1443346 11221618 1076954 65536 202833920 10107758 2186157 18747008 782377 492806144 2702954 7132178 450560 235601920 181 255161312 524288 32564 25763840 140 25763840 20605378 3604480 235601920 141 1661337600 1676091392 25755648 5379350 25755648 141 556310528 558039040 450560 19464948 1661337600 141 57344 25763840 498 224 95707136 1739549 1408929 96690176 524288 562946048 15728640 466944 21743 3604480 29675 15663104 3604480 524288 1656381440 131072 556310528 95707136 5120274 3777198 131072 3662565 4483 3565547 25763840 874246 1661337600 24255204 8975249 57344 325 22898 29825834 38535168 3259859 1168823 1656381440 18617 96296960 15827620 25870336 65536 41798 1661337600 96247808 20301936 57344 734681 236036096 96575488 36111412 235741184 159 6241672 556310528 16206071 15663104 246222452 235601920 480049248 32521 28962 15388810 450560 558039040 5051982 57344 235790336 29492 38600704 2752005 82178 1656381440 1917596 235601920 1530 17458548 224 16153497 556310528 2731680 236609536 1412 15728640 19855920 23867688 75190 1656381440 221602 25870336 11327258 1569775616 5134366 578856 524288 25755648 25118 466944 235741184 101299744 95665024 15323898 25755648 3419207 22318652 96075776 2786 711 3667443 3853620 105 2403228 18681744 558039040 25763840 32627 452570 8981440 985138392 17458548 19529600 26526212 15182864 450560 10397152 97918912 10024290 131072 38600704 215 96075776 4187221 30005 38535168 30518 236232704 57344 1044 98419776 131072 1031426 3949283 1656381440 5660648 5564714 24959876 5557126 25757 556310528 96010240 17458548 3052002 145 19437 37863 211371 48817739 8124798 3955346 1371801 13808 23247 22188 type/x-r-syntax type/x-r-syntax type/x-r-syntax application/rtf text/plain text/plain text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/dbf text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/dbf text/plain text/plain text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/dbf text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/dbf text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system application/dbf text/plain application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/octet-stream application/dbf application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain application/pdf application/pdf application/dbf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system text/plain text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/dbf text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/dbf application/dbf application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/dbf application/x-sas-system text/plain application/dbf application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/plain text/plain text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/dbf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/pdf text/plain application/x-msdownload text/plain application/dbf application/dbf application/dbf application/dbf application/x-sas-system application/dbf text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system text/plain application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/pdf application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system text/tab-separated-values text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/x-sas-system text/plain text/plain application/dbf text/plain text/tab-separated-values application/x-sas-system application/x-sas-system application/dbf text/plain text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet type/x-r-syntax type/x-r-syntax type/x-r-syntax 1.0 Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Mail voting became unusually controversial in the 2020 presidential election. Many observers, including former President Trump, believed that more accessible vote by mail would encourage higher turnout at the expense of Republicans. While the literature has tested some of these claims, it has not offered a more comprehensive causal assessment of vote-by-mail policy, nor has any study looked at these questions in the context of the extraordinary 2020 election. We examine the effect of mail ballot access policies both before and during the 2020 pandemic election with county-level data and a variety of methodological approaches. Our results suggest that making it easier to vote by mail—–especially mailing every voter a ballot—–generally does increase turnout, both before and during the 2020 election. By contrast, the same policies do not have robust partisan effects, and in many models they tilt the results in a more Republican direction. While some of our findings are sensitive to model specification, the positive turnout effect of mailing every voter a ballot is robust to many alternative approaches. The confirmation of the existing understanding of universally mailed ballots suggests the basic dynamics of the reform are immune to a wide range of disruptive forces.