Fewer than half of all votes in the 2022 midterm elections were cast in person on Election Day, according to data compiled by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's Election Administration and Voting Survey, reports the Washington Post.
The voting landscape changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, with many states making changes to voting procedures or policies. Voting by mail decreased in 2022 compared to the 2020 general election, though rates remained higher than pre-pandemic levels at 31.9%.
Almost half of all voters voted in person on Election Day, and more than two-thirds of voters cast their ballots in person (either on or before Election Day) for the 2022 general election.
The way people vote varies by geography, according to the Post.
In Washington state, nearly every voter cast their ballot by mail in the 2022 midterm elections. In Idaho, two-thirds of voters voted in person.
In-person voting rebounded in 2022 after decreasing in 2020, according to the EAVS, going from 30.5% to 49%. Voting by mail (43%-32%) and early voting (30.5%-22.2%) decreased during that same time span.
The Trump campaign has cast doubt on mail-in voting, with former President Donald Trump telling rallygoers in Pennsylvania in August that "the elections are so screwed up.
"We have to get back in and we have to change it all. We want to go to paper ballots. We want to go to same-day voting. We want to go to citizenship papers. And we want to go to voter ID. It's very simple. We want to get rid of mail-in voting."
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in July, he said, "the mail-in voting isn't working. It's corrupt. But until then, Republicans must win."