Utah lawmakers paid for a study on mail-in voting security. Here's what researchers found

SALT LAKE CITY — A study commissioned by the Utah Legislature found "no evidence of significant or widespread fraud" in Utah elections and found no increase in voter fraud when states switch from in-person voting to mail-in voting.

The study, which lawmakers commissioned earlier this year to examine security risks of the different types of voting, also found that Utah's switch to vote-by-mail led to a significant increase in voter participation and "drastic jumps" in participation in rural counties.

Researchers at Utah Valley University's Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy presented their findings to a panel of lawmakers at the Capitol on Wednesday, noting that comprehensive national voter fraud databases — including one compiled by the Heritage Foundation — have identified 2,276 cases of voter fraud between 2000 and 2019.

Of those, only 51 alleged fraud cases occurred in Utah, and all of those cases stemmed from a single 2006 mayoral election in Daggett County.

"From what we could find, reported fraud does not increase when in-person states switch to voting by mail," the study states.

The report noted that "information about election fraud remains limited," but that Utah's system "relies on overlapping safeguards" to ensure security.

The study looked at different state policies on election security and found that some proposals can make it harder to vote and decrease turnout, though it said those "effects are not universal."

A Kansas law requiring documentary-proof of citizenship would have prevented about 31,000 eligible citizens from voting, before it was struck down by a court.

Another law in Texas with several additional ballot requirements led to significantly increased rates of ballot rejection.

"Higher rejection rates, inconvenienced voters and negative turnout effects are all examples of this increased cost," the study states.

Researchers didn't say additional measures shouldn't be taken to improve security, but their report warned that changes should be weighed with their potential costs.

"For Utah, these findings reinforce the need to evaluate proposed changes against existing protections and demonstrated risks," the report states.

The study was commissioned by lawmakers earlier this year, and researchers were also asked to look into the best practices for a potential process requiring voters to return mailed ballots in person and show their ID. The report notes that county clerks already verify voters' identities twice — once when they first register and again when they verify the signature on a voter's ballot.

Starting in 2029, voters will need to opt in to receive mail ballots, and lawmakers have mulled other changes to mail-in voting laws as some have expressed concern about security.

Researchers determined the "only viable solution that meets the full requirements" lawmakers asked them to study would be to pay poll workers to staff drop boxes at all times to help verify identities. This would cost the state an estimated $8 million per year and increase the time it takes an average voter to drop off a ballot from one to four minutes.

"Four minutes may seem small, but with just a few voters in line, the total wait increases very quickly," the report states. "With a one-minute deposit time, five cars/voters in line would mean around a five-minute wait; with a four-minute deposit time, five cars/voters would mean around a twenty-minute wait."

About 430,000 ballots are returned to drop boxes in the last two days of an election, according to the report, meaning staffing drop boxes could lead to "very long wait times for voters."

The report does suggest several alternatives, including using a Sentinel Smart Drop Box or having the state develop a digital identity that can be used to quickly verify a voter's valid ID at the drop box, but both of those solutions would require additional steps or policy in order to work.

Sentinel Smart Drop Boxes photograph both sides of a ballot envelope and take a picture of the voter, but it does not actually verify the voter's identity.

"Either manually matching the voter to their photo from the DMV or using AI technologies back at the county elections office would be required to verify voter identity," the report states.

Lawmakers may use the report to shape future changes to Utah's elections, but the researchers cautioned against doing too much, too quickly, as it can cause confusion for those working to administer elections.

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