| | |
|
Date / Time
Information
Contact Info: Pass Democratic Club P.O. Box 724 Banning, CA 92220 (951) 849-4986 razarnoff@gmail.com Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 6:00 p.m. Carrow's Restaurant, Banning
Board Members
Jackie Atwood
President Betty McMillion 1st Vice President Juanita Render 2nd Vice President Doris Foreman Recording Secretary Roy Azarnoff Correspondence Secretary TBA Treasurer Carl Wood Legislation Chair Phyllis Leeper Logistics Chair Pelton Teague Parliamentarian TBA Publicity Chair Blanche Teague Scholarship Chair Sheila Huerta Program Chair Dorothy Richter Spirit & History Chair Diogenez Website Administrator
Blogs
| Welcome to the Pass Democratic Club! Serving Democrats in Banning, Beaumont, Cabazon, Calimesa and Cherry Valley Riverside County, California VOTE BY MAIL By RUTH GOLDWAY, New York Times LAST Election Day, voters encountered myriad difficulties, from the unexplained glitch that temporarily halted Montana's vote count to the 18,300 undervotes in Forida's 13th Congressional District, to long lines, bad weather, inadequately trained workers, delayed or missing absentee ballots and complicated new identity forms. There was, however, one state where all went well: Oregon, where everyone votes by mail. Since Oregon adopted Vote by Mail as its sole voting option in 1998, the state's turnout has increased, concerns about fraud have decreased, a complete paper trail exists for every election, recounts are non-controvertible and both major political parties have gained voters. Moreover, in doing away with voting machines, polling booths, precinct captains and election workers, the state estimates that it saves up to 40 percent over the cost of a traditional election. Vote by Mail could offer real advantages if it were adopted nationwide. Voters would not need to take time off from work, find transportation, find the right polling station, get babysitters or rush through reading complicated ballot initiatives. The USA's 35,000 post offices could provide information, distribute and collect voting materials and issue inexpensive residency and address identifications for voting purposes. Perhaps most important, given the concerns about voting machine security, mail ballots cannot be hacked. Tampering or interfering with mail is a federal crime, and the United States Postal Service has its own law enforcement arm, which works closely with a variety of enforcement authorities including the F.B.I. Trained election clerks can take the time to check signatures without delaying or discouraging voters. And the advantages of a paper trail outshine the glitter of black box electronic gadgetry. States that have adopted measures like "no excuse necessary" absentee ballots find that the public is eager to avail itself of the opportunity to vote by mail. As many as 30 percent of voters didn't use the polls in November. In Washington State, where 34 of 39 counties vote entirely by mail, 70 percent of November's votes were cast by mail; in California, the number is near 40 percent. |
Welcome
Poll
|
| ©2010 Pass Democratic Club | ||