Gronke: Maps Illustrate Diversity of Polling Place Alternatives

[Images courtesy of Early Voting Information Center]

Yesterday, Paul Gronke of Reed College testified before the Presidential Commission on Election Administration about the growth of alternatives to the traditional Election Day polling place. Fortunately for those of us unable to attend, he shared a summary of his presentation via the EarlyVoting blog.

The centerpiece of his testimony was a set of three maps that illustrate how polling place alternatives are used at the county level nationwide:

First, early voting rates by county:

Then, vote-by-mail ballots by county:

Finally, early in-person voting by county:

Using these maps, Gronke notes that

[t]he rise of early voting has added a new layers of diversity to an already incredibly diverse election system …

The result is that voters have increasingly diverged nationwide in how they cast their ballots. These maps from 2008 (the 2012 data is still incomplete) illustrate the pattern nationwide.

Compare the first map, which displays early voting rates overall, with the rates for voting by mail/absentee voting and early in-person voting …

Not only is there substantial variation among states and regions, but there are even large county by county differences within states.

These maps reinforce the point that voters are increasingly moving away from traditional polling places to other alternatives – but also show that the trend is far from uniform nationwide (or even within states). Figuring out how to modify the voting process (including laws, technology and funding) to accommodate these trends – without imposing a one-size-fits-all solution – will be a challenge in the years ahead.