Exploring Process Performance of Envelope Opening and Ballot Extraction Options in Vote-by-Mail: A Utah Case Study

Vote-by-Mail (VBM) has become increasingly popular over the last decade, but the process is executed differently even between jurisdictions within the same state. Currently, most VBM literature focuses on topics from the perspective of political science, and little-to-no work features analysis of operational aspects or human-machine interactions. Depending on the jurisdiction size, these VBM process steps are executed by humans, machines, or a combination of machines supporting humans. The opening-extraction process step of envelope opening and ballot extraction is always necessary. Therefore, the literature needs to consider the process execution of VBM ballots, the possible support of machines, and human-machine interactions in the VBM tabulation processes. This study compares two opening-extraction options to open envelopes and extract ballots in the VBM tabulation process. This research demonstrates that no one system of opening-extraction is generally better than the other, but some trade-offs need to be considered.