In-Person Voting Versus Mail Balloting: The Impact of Election Format on U.S. Labor Union Representation Elections

Historically, voting in the National Labor Relations Board representation elections has been conducted “in-person” at designated election sites, with “mail-balloting” used under limited circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed this dynamic, as mail-balloting became widely used across the country. The adoption of mail balloting has been controversial. This article examines this issue using data on 5981 elections for labor union representation conducted by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sample, which includes information about labor elections conducted by mail and in-person, allows us to analyze how election modality impacted voter participation and election outcomes. Our analyses show that there is a lower voter participation rate among workers in mail ballot elections, but that unions receive a larger share of votes in said elections. We discuss the implications of these results, drawing primarily from the industrial relations literature.