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7.1.D. - Page 13 <br /> negative effects could be mitigated if election officials communicated with voters at least <br /> four times prior to elections.16 <br /> In 2007, a study was published by Kousser and Mullin that utilizes a matching <br /> technique to analyze whether voters assigned to all mail-ballot precincts in regular <br /> elections are more likely to turn out than those that have a choice of voting method. This <br /> sophisticated study looked at the demographic characteristics of these voters and then <br /> compared them to voters with the same demographics in non mail-ballot precincts. This <br /> was done to prevent the selection bias that is inherent in most studies of all mail ballot <br /> systems due to its limited sample availability. The study finds that voting by mail does <br /> not deliver on the often repeated promise of increasing participation in general elections. <br /> However, their paper also suggests that for small, local elections, vote-by-mail may <br /> increase turnout.17 <br /> A survey of registered voters in Oregon showed that there continues to be <br /> overwhelming support for the vote-by-mail system, and women and the employed are <br /> particularly likely to report an increase in voting frequency since the adoption of this <br /> system. Women, the elderly, and Republican voters are most likely to favor the vote-by- <br /> 16 Bergman,Elizabeth,and Philip A.Yates. "Changing Election Methods:How Does Mandated Vote-By-Affect <br /> Individual Registrants?"Election Law Journal:Rules,Politics,and Policy 10.2(2011): 115-27.Web. 15 Nov.2013. <br /> <http://onlinediebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/elj.2010.0079>. <br /> 17 Kousser,Thad, and Megan Mullin. "Does Voting by Mail Increase Participation?Using Matching to <br /> analyze a Natural Experiment" Political Analysis,Vol. 15,No.4,Autumn 2007; <br /> <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25791905> <br /> 7 <br />