Pass Democratic Club: News

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Serving Democrats in Banning, Beaumont, Cabazon, Calimesa and Cherry Valley
Riverside County, California

VOTE BY MAIL

Misc Diogenez Saturday 10 February 2007 - 05:02:43

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.