Post 2020 Election Sees Barrage of Election Bills Limiting or Expanding Mail-In Voting

Some states expand use of mail-in ballots—while others are limiting their use over security concerns

Mail-in ballots in their envelopes await processing at the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorders' mail-in ballot processing center at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

After the unprecedented expansion of mail-in voting in the 2020 election, dozens of states changed their mail-in voting rules. Republican-leaning states tended to introduce measures to make voting more secure, but less convenient. Democratic-leaning states were more likely on the opposite track.

At least 36 states approved legislation pertaining in some way to mail-in voting, according to the left-leaning Voting Rights Lab.