Voter-verified paper ballots, the gold standard of secure elections, typically require high-quality paper types. Ballot materials demand specialized production, intentional delivery, and secure storage.
Long-term trends, exacerbated by recent market factors, have put the supply of paper for the midterm elections at risk. Paper orders that once took days or weeks are now taking months. Costs have increased by 40% or more.
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The market size of paper mills in the U.S. fell 36.5% from 2012 to 2020 as a result of increased competition with foreign markets and decreasing demand for paper.
As demand for goods and services skyrocketed during the pandemic, many of the remaining paper mills—both domestically and globally—shifted their focus to producing cardboard boxes and other shipping materials with higher profit margins than conventional paper goods.
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Paper shortages are further compounded by rising costs, labor shortages, and delivery delays.
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With limited materials, most jurisdictions won’t be able to reprint orders after they’ve been placed. If a statutory or rules change requires adjustments to ballot materials, jurisdictions may not be able to obtain new materials in time for the election.
Additionally, between shifting pandemic realities, the deepening of election misinformation, and new voting rules and regulations, it’s not clear which voting methods voters will favor most in upcoming elections.
Bipartisan Policy Center
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