; in New York, voters reported that stations ran out of ballots and did not have staff during all of the hours scheduled for voting. (8) Voting by mail is preferable to many voters as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2012, 19 percent of ballots in the United States were cast by mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. In 2016, nearly 58 percent of California voters chose to vote by mail. Voting by mail has become increasingly popular with voters who want to be certain that they are able to vote no matter what comes up on election day, as it reduces the physical obstacles and eases the time constraints connected with the act of voting. (9) The signature verification process, the tracking system for each ballot, and postal service cooperation in preventing ballots from being delivered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in vote by mail elections. Evidence of undue influence or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementation in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. (10) Many of the reasons which voters in many States are required to provide in order to vote by mail require the revelation of personal information about health, travel plans, or religious activities, which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to prevent voter fraud. (11) State laws which require voters to obtain a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and inconvenience to voters without increasing security. (12) Many voters choose to cast ballots early when they have the option (over 40 percent in Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee). Nearly one-third of voters in the 2012 election cast their ballot before election day, which is about double the rate of voters in 2000. In Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election implementation, over 80 percent of voters favored the vote-by-mail system. (13) Vote-by-mail typically increases turnout in all elections, but can be particularly effective in increasing voter participation in special elections and primary elections. Oregon,