MIT Election Lab

@mitelectionlab.bsky.social

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By applying scientific principles to how elections are studied and administered, MEDSL aims to improve the democratic experience for all U.S. voters.

Purple background with a blue stripe on the side. Text reads: Blog post: Administration of Mail-In Voting; Measuring Data Across a Nationwide Patchwork of Policy Decisions
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2026 Request for Proposals Submit your project proposals for the 2026 Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference through March 20, 2026! Proposals should emphasize the practical applications of scholarly research in the field of election administration. Do not exceed more than 250 words.
Presentation proposals for the 2026 ESRA Conference are being accepted through March 20, 2026! This is a fantastic opportunity to share best practices in election administration and connect with academics and practitioners alike. Learn more by going to https://esra-conference.org/2026-call-proposals.
2026 Request for Proposals Submit your project proposals for the 2026 Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference through March 20, 2026! Proposals should emphasize the practical applications of scholarly research in the field of election administration. Do not exceed more than 250 words.
A hex map of the United States showing our 2024 precinct data collection & publication process. Nearly every state is now green, indicating that the data are available in our repository. NJ is blue, indicating that the state's data are in our quality assurance process. NY, MS, AZ, CA, and OR are yellow, indicating that data collection is still in progress for those states
A hex map of the United States, titled "Progress of 2024 precinct data." Most states are still colored grey, indicating that our team hasn't yet cleaned and posted their precinct-level election results. 17 states are now bright pink, indicating that we HAVE collected, cleaned, and posted their data! Pink states are: MT, MN, SD, NH, IL, KY, TN, VA, DE, NC, SC, DC, FL, NM, OK, KS, and HI.
A hex map of the United States. Most states are greyed out, but now 12 states are hot pink, indicating their data have been collected, cleaned, and published by our team. States available are now: DC, DE, NC, SC, FL, TN, KY, IL, MN, SD, OK, and MT.
A hex map of the United States. Most states are greyed out, but 11 states are now hot pink, signifying that our team has collected, cleaned, and posted their precinct-level election data! Available states are: DC, DE, NC, SC, FL, TN, IL, OK, MN, SD, and MT.
The number of ballots applied for, sent, and returned in Wisconsin, from early March through today, in both 2025 and 2023. In 2023, 450,000 ballots had been applied for and 446,000 had been sent as of five days before the election. This year, 627,000 ballots have been applied for and 623,000 have been sent to voters. In 2023, 310,000 ballots had been returned by this point in the election calendar, compared to 475,000 this year. Whereas 122,000 in-person absentee votes were cast by this point in 2023, 242,000 have been cast this cycle. Note that data reporting for the absentee voting window began about a week earlier this year when compared to 2023.
The number of ballots applied for, sent, and returned in Wisconsin, from early March through today, in both 2025 and 2023. In 2023, 429,000 ballots had been applied for and 425,000 had been sent as of six days before the election. This year, 582,000 ballots have been applied for and 578,000 have been sent to voters. In 2023, 268,000 ballots had been returned by this point in the election calendar, compared to almost 408,000 this year. Whereas 103,000 in-person absentee votes were cast by this point in 2023, 200,000 have been cast this cycle. Note that data reporting for the absentee voting window began about a week earlier this year when compared to 2023.
The number of ballots applied for, sent, and returned in Wisconsin, from early March through today, in both 2025 and 2023. In 2023, 409,000 ballots had been applied for and 405,000 had been sent as of one week before the election. This year, 539,000 ballots have been applied for and 534,000 have been sent to voters. In 2023, 233,000 ballots had been returned by this point in the election calendar, compared to almost 346,000 this year. Whereas 84,000 in-person absentee votes were cast by this point in 2023, 159,000 have been cast this cycle. Note that data reporting for the absentee voting window began about a week earlier this year when compared to 2023.
The number of ballots applied for, sent, and returned in Wisconsin, from early March through today, in both 2025 and 2023. In 2023, 327,000 ballots had been applied for and 319,000 had been sent on the 13th day before the election. This year, 393,000 ballots have been applied for and 385,000 have been sent to voters. In 2023, 57,000 ballots had been returned by this point in the election calendar, compared to almost 86,000 this year. Whereas 15,000 in-person absentee votes were cast by this point in 2023, 34,000 have been cast this cycle. It is important to note that the absentee voting window is about a week longer this year than in 2023.
This plot compares the total number of Wisconsin registered voters in each of the the six months before the 2025 and 2023 Spring Elections. Both years saw a spike in registrants in the data reported after a federal general election, and a gradual drop-off thereafter. In 2023, there were about 3,600,000 registered voters at the beginning of March. By comparison, in 2025, that figure was just under 3,850,000.
A hex map of the United States. Most states are colored grey, but 9 states are hot pink, indicating that they have been added to our dataset of 2024 precinct data. Those states are: Montana, Minnesota (new!), South Dakota, Illinois (new!), Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, Delaware, and DC.
A grey hex map of the United States. Seven states are colored bright pink, signifying that they have been added to our 2024 precinct data: MT, SD, OK, TN, NC, DE, and DC.
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A white hand is just visible at the bottom of this photo, holding a small American flag together with a joyful sparkler that is fizzing and popping with light. (Image taken by Stephanie McCabe, available on Unsplash.)
A hex map of the United States. Most states are still grey and uncounted; six states are pink, indicating our team has cleaned and posted 2024 precinct-level election data for them! The pink states are Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Delaware.
A bald man in glasses gestures from a podium at a data visual projected on a screen next to him.
Paul Gronke, a man in a suit with grey hair, speaks at a podium, while Paul Manson, also in a suit, stands to one side.
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A hex map of the United States. All but three states are greyed out. South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Delaware are colored hot pink, indicating that their data have already been collected and included in our precinct data repository.
A hexagonal map of the US. All of the states are grey, except for Delaware and Oklahoma, which are hot pink.
A hex map of the United States, titled "Progress of 2024 precinct data." All the states are greyed out, except for Delaware, which has been colored in hot pink.
The change in the number of Republicans, Democrats, or all other voters between each month of 2020 and the corresponding month in 2024. Kentucky had consistently gained net more than 100,000 Republicans each month of 2024 compared to the same month in 2020 until August, when the net gain in Republicans dipped to a net increase of about 70 to 80 thousand in September and October. Each month Democrats were consistently fewer by more than 150,000 net voters compared to 2020, while all other voters gained about 50,000 net voters between 2020 and 2024, a change that held steady throughout the year.
The number of mail-in ballots issued and accepted, and the number of early in-person votes cast, in Georgia in the leadup to the 2020 and 2024 elections. In 2020, more than 1 million absentee ballots were sent to voters about 47 days before the election, and climbed to about 1.7 million a week before the election. In 2024, that number started around 200,000 30 days before the election and has climbed to nearly 350,000. In 2020, about 1.3 million ballots had been returned by the day before the election, compared to under 270,000 in 2024. In-person early voting in 2020 reached about 2.7 million in 2020 when the early voting period ended, compared to over 3.8 million in 2024.
The number of ballots sent and returned in 2020 and 2024, starting 31 days before each election. Ballots began to be returned slightly earlier in 2024 than in 2020, with about 76% returned so far in 2024 compared to about 73% so far in 2020. However, at this point in 2020 nearly 3 million ballots had been requested with close to 2 million returned, compared to about 2.2 million requested in 2024 and nearly 1.9 million returned.
The number of Nevada mail ballots accepted each day in the month before the election by party, starting 31 days before November 5, 2024. Democrats consistently lead; as of October 30, about 220,000 ballots from registered Democrats had been recorded, compared to 165,000 for Republicans, 135,000 for those not registered with a party, and 35,000 for Other registrants.
This graph shows counts of accepted mail in ballots for 2020 and 2024 by party, starting one month before the election. Mail ballot counts climbed gradually in both 2020 and 2024 though there were significantly more in 2020 than in 2024 for all parties. 2 day prior to the election 68,000 Republicans, 92,000 Democrats, and 103,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation have cast ballots. At the equivalent time in 2020, 210,000 Republicans, 430,000 Democrats, and 350,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation had cast ballots.
The number of absentee ballots issued, returned, and cast in-person in Wisconsin in both 2020 and 2024, starting 50 days before the election (September 16 in 2024, September 14 in 2020) until about 1 week before the election. At this time in 2020, more than 1.4 million ballots had been issued to voters, plateauing about 3 weeks before the election. In 2024, nearly 650,000 have been issued to voters, and over 550,000 ballots (about 87%) have already been returned, compared to over 1.2 million (about 88%) returned by this point in 2020.
This graph shows counts of accepted mail in ballots for 2020 and 2024 by party, starting one month before the election. Mail ballot counts climbed gradually in both 2020 and 2024 though there were significantly more in 2020 than in 2024 for all parties. 3 days prior to the election 63,000 Republicans, 85,000 Democrats, and 93,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation have cast ballots. At the equivalent time in 2020, 190,000 Republicans, 440,000 Democrats, and 320,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation had cast ballots.
The number of mail-in ballots issued and accepted, and the number of early in-person votes cast, in Georgia in the leadup to the 2020 and 2024 elections. In 2020, more than 1 million absentee ballots were sent to voters about 47 days before the election, and climbed to about 1.7 million a week before the election. In 2024, that number started around 200,000 30 days before the election and has climbed to nearly 350,000. In 2020, about 1 million had been returned roughly a week before the election, compared to under 200,000 in 2024. In-person early voting in 2020 reached about 2.3 million in 2020 a week out from the election, compared to over 3 million in 2024.
The number of ballots sent and returned in 2020 and 2024, starting 31 days before each election. Ballots began to be returned slightly earlier in 2024 than in 2020, with about 76% returned so far in 2024 compared to about 73% so far in 2020. However, at this point in 2020 nearly 3 million ballots had been requested with close to 2 million returned, compared to about 2.2 million requested in 2024 and nearly 1.8 million returned.
The number of early in-person votes cast in Nevada throughout the early voting period, from 17 days before the election until the current number of days to the election. Republicans have hewed very closely to their early vote totals in 2020, landing at about 250,000 votes early so far, while Democrats have fallen slightly below their 2020 totals, with closer to 150,000 now, compared to about 165,000 at this time in 2020. Other voters have surpassed their 2020 totals, casting about 145,000 votes so far.
This plot shows the status of Florida's mail ballots from mid-September through yesterday. It shows daily growth in the number of mail ballots sent for all partisan affiliations (Democrats, Republicans, Others, and those with no party affiliation). On 9/26, Florida mailed hundreds of thousands of ballots to absentee voters. Roughly 1.45 million Democrats and 1.2 million Republicans have been sent ballots, alongside nearly 800,000 unaffiliated and 80,000 other voters. Republicans have returned roughly 980,000 ballots (81% of ballots issued to Republicans), Democrats have returned about 1.15 million ballots (80% of ballots issued to Democrats), those with no party affiliation have returned roughly 590,000 thousand (76%), and 60,000 other voters have returned their ballots (75%).
The number of absentee ballots issued, returned, and cast in-person in Wisconsin in both 2020 and 2024, starting 50 days before the election (September 16 in 2024, September 14 in 2020) until about 1 week before the election. At this time in 2020, more than 1.4 million ballots had been issued to voters, plateauing about 3 weeks before the election. In 2024, nearly 650,000 have been issued to voters, and over 550,000 ballots (about 87%) have already been returned, compared to over 1.2 million (about 87%) returned by this point in 2020.
The unofficial count of mail and in person early voters in Texas since September 29th 2024. The number of Texans who have returned their ballots by mail has risen gradually to over 350,000. Data for 2020 began on October 4th (30 days before the election) and was noticeably higher than at the equivalent point in 2024. Four days before the 2020 election, around 940,000 Texans had returned their mail-in ballot. Though in-person early votes are currently at around 8.6 million and had reached about 8.8 million in 2020, in person early began 22 days before the election in 2020 compared to 16 days before the election in 2024.
The number of mail-in ballots issued and accepted, and the number of early in-person votes cast, in Georgia in the lead-up to the 2020 and 2024 elections. In 2020, more than 1 million absentee ballots were sent to voters about 47 days before the election, and climbed to about 1.7 million a week before the election. In 2024, that number started around 200,000 30 days before the election and has climbed to over 300,000. In 2020, about 1 million had been returned roughly a week before the election, compared to under 200,000 in 2024. In-person early voting in 2020 reached about 2.3 million in 2020 a week out from the election, compared to over 3 million in 2024.
The number of ballots sent and returned in 2020 and 2024, starting 31 days before each election. Ballots began to be returned slightly earlier in 2024 than in 2020, with about 76% returned so far in 2024 compared to about 73% so far in 2020. However, at this point in 2020 nearly 3 million ballots had been requested with close to 2 million returned, compared to about 2.2 million requested in 2024 and just over 1.6 million returned.
The number of Nevada mail ballots accepted each day in the month before the election by party, starting 31 days before November 5, 2024. Democrats consistently lead; as of October 30, about 190,000 ballots from registered Democrats had been recorded, compared to 140,000 for Republicans, 110,000 for those not registered with a party, and 30,000 for Other registrants.
This graph shows counts of early in person voting for 2020 and 2024 by party, starting one month before the election. In person voting began roughly 20 days before the election in both years. 5 days prior to the election 1,250,000 Republicans, 1,180,000 Democrats, and 1,220,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation have cast ballots. At the equivalent time in 2020, 1,120,000 Republicans, 1,160,000 Democrats, and 950,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation had cast ballots.
This plot shows the status of Florida's mail ballots from mid-September through yesterday. It shows daily growth in the number of mail ballots sent for all partisan affiliations (Democrats, Republicans, Others, and those with no party affiliation). On 9/26, Florida mailed hundreds of thousands of ballots to absentee voters. Roughly 1.45 million Democrats and 1.2 million Republicans have been sent ballots, alongside nearly 800,000 unaffiliated and 80,000 other voters. Republicans have returned roughly 880,000 ballots (73% of ballots issued to Republicans), Democrats have returned about 1.0 million ballots (71% of ballots issued to Democrats), those with no party affiliation have returned roughly 540,000 thousand (65%), and 55,000 other voters have returned their ballots (65%).
The unofficial count of mail and in person early voters in Texas since September 29th 2024. The number of Texans who have returned their ballots by mail has risen gradually to over 320,000. Data for 2020 began on October 4th (30 days before the election) and was noticeably higher than at the equivalent point in 2024. Five days before the 2020 election, around 920,000 Texans had returned their mail-in ballot. Though in-person early votes are currently at around 7.6 million and had reached about 8.1 million in 2020, in person early began 22 days before the election in 2020 compared to 16 days before the election in 2024.
The number of absentee ballots issued, returned, and cast in-person in Wisconsin in both 2020 and 2024, starting 50 days before the election (September 16 in 2024, September 14 in 2020) until about 1 week before the election. At this time in 2020, more than 1.4 million ballots had been issued to voters, plateauing about 3 weeks before the election. In 2024, over 600,000 have been issued to voters, and over 500,000 ballots (about 81%) have already been returned, compared to over 1.1 million (about 82%) returned by this point in 2020.
The first slide shows the number of ballots sent and returned in 2020 and 2024, starting 31 days before each election. Ballots began to be returned slightly earlier in 2024 than in 2020, with about 74% returned so far in 2024 compared to about 69% so far in 2020. However, at this point in 2020 nearly 3 million ballots had been requested with close to 2 million returned, compared to about 2.2 million requested in 2024 and just over 1.6 million returned.
The number of absentee ballots issued, returned, and cast in-person in Wisconsin in both 2020 and 2024, starting 50 days before the election (September 16 in 2024, September 14 in 2020) until about 1 week before the election. At this time in 2020, more than 1.4 million ballots had been issued to voters, plateauing about 3 weeks before the election. In 2024, over 600,000 have been issued to voters, and about 500,000 ballots (about 78%) have already been returned, compared to about 1.1 million (about 77%) returned by this point in 2020.
This graph shows counts of accepted mail in ballots for 2020 and 2024 by party, starting one month before the election. Mail ballot counts climbed gradually in both 2020 and 2024 though there were significantly more in 2020 than in 2024 for all parties. 7 days prior to the election 51,000 Republicans, 67,000 Democrats, and 71,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation have cast ballots. At the equivalent time in 2020, 170,000 Republicans, 400,000 Democrats, and 290,000 voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation had cast ballots.
The number of early in-person votes cast in Nevada throughout the early voting period, from 17 days before the election until the current number of days to the election. Republicans have hewed very closely to their early vote totals in 2020, landing at about 205,000 votes early so far, while Democrats have fallen slightly below their 2020 totals, with closer to 117,000 now compared to about 140,000 at this time in 2020. Other voters are very close to their 2020 totals as well, casting about 107,000 votes so far.