Since 2009, Utah has tested out a number of voting reforms designed to increase participation, including online voter registration and pilot projects allowing voters to register on Election Day, as well as mail-in voting.
The Utah Foundation, a public policy think tank, looked at turnout data over the past few municipal elections in a report released last week. They found that those municipalities that implemented voting by mail saw major increases in their turnout rates.
“Utah cities conducting all vote-by-mail elections saw an average increase in turnout from 21 percent in 2011 to 38 percent in 2015,” the report said.
Researchers found that the effect was particularly pronounced in smaller communities rather than larger cities. Still, some cities saw major gains as well. Salt Lake City, for instance, saw its turnout rate soar to 55 percent in 2015 from 13 percent in 2013 and 24 percent in 2011.
