Q+A
How Sports Fandom Strengthens Community Connection
New research from More in Common explores how sports connect Americans across differences and strengthen their community ties.
Policy Brief
Ensuring All Votes Count: Reducing Rejected Ballots
Programs
This brief studies trends in mail ballot rejection rates in 2020 compared to previous years and how different factors, including sets of policies and policy changes, the political environment, and voter outreach, may have contributed to these changes in an extraordinary election year. Our main findings include:
- Mail ballot rejection rates decreased in most states in 2020 compared to 2018, and a number of states saw a consistent drop from 2016 to 2018 to 2020.
- Certain states that adapted their voting laws to make mail voting more accessible in 2020, particularly in the South, saw especially pronounced changes in rejection rates.
- In North Carolina, rejection rates vary from county to county. Previous studies of other states’ rejection rates found similar trends.
- States that implemented mail ballot policies, including ballot curing, increased ease of access when returning mail ballots at boards of elections, early voting sites, drop boxes, and ballot tracking, saw lower rejection rates than those that didn’t, though we caution against assuming a causal relationship.
- Previous academic and advocacy research suggests that voters of color, young voters, and first-time voters are disproportionately more likely to have their mail ballots rejected.
We highlight these trends and suggest further areas of study that researchers, advocates, organizers, and policymakers can explore to better understand how voters casting their ballots by mail can ensure their votes are counted.
Related Resources
Podcast
Terms of Engagement: Matthew Baum on What Voters Fear, What They Don’t Know, and Where They Look
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, new research raises an urgent question: Are Americans operating within fundamentally different information realities? In this episode, Professor Matthew Baum examines what voters know about election rules, where they get their information, and how partisan divides shape perceptions of the voting process.
Feature
In Appearance Before Congress, Stephen Richer Testifies on Alleged Noncitizen Voting in New Jersey
On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, now an Ash Senior Fellow and election administration expert, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. The hearing examined allegations that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote in New Jersey between June 2023 and June 2024.
Case Study
New Interactive Dashboard Maps the Voter Information Landscape Ahead of the 2026 Midterms
A new interactive dashboard maps where Americans are finding voting information and learning about key aspects of the voting process—from sourcing polling locations to voter registration—ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Developed in collaboration with the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, the National Internet Observatory at Northeastern University, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation’s Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, and The Civic Health and Institutions Project, the research offers new insights into the voter information landscape in the United States.
Feature
In Appearance Before Congress, Stephen Richer Testifies on Alleged Noncitizen Voting in New Jersey
On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, now an Ash Senior Fellow and election administration expert, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. The hearing examined allegations that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote in New Jersey between June 2023 and June 2024.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends
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