Panel considers mail-only ballots

Task force to discuss whether Pierce County should end voting at polls

AARON CORVIN; The Tacoma News Tribune
Last d: March 8th, 2005

Pierce County will begin laying the groundwork Wednesday on deciding whether all voters should be required to vote by mail.

At its first major public meeting, the Mail-In Voting Advisory Task Force, created by the County Council last November, will discuss the county?s authority to require mail-only elections and review information about Oregon?s vote-by-mail system.

The task force?s meetings are open to the public. But the panel isn?t expected to collect formal public testimony Wednesday. That will come later.

Councilman Dick Muri (R-Steilacoom), chairman of the task force, said the meeting primarily will ?set the template on what we?re trying to achieve, open up the discussions and (begin) the research.?

The task force is charged with examining the costs of polling places and voting machines, and the experiences of other local governments. It must report its findings and recommendations to the council and County Executive John Ladenburg by July 31.

One of the panel?s biggest recommendations will be whether to send an advisory ballot to voters asking them if they want mail-only elections.

In a Jan. 24 memo to the task force, Jerry Costello, chief criminal deputy prosecutor for the county, said he believes state law gives Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy ?sole discretion? over whether to implement mail-only elections.

McCarthy said she will not eliminate poll voting as an option. She said she would support using an advisory ballot to measure public opinion of switching to mail-only elections.

?It?s up to the people of the county to make this decision,? she said.

Councilman Muri spearheaded creation of the task force to examine how the county might save money by converting to mail-only elections.

Council members Shawn Bunney (R-Lake Tapps), Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup), and former council member Harold Moss endorsed the ordinance that created the task force.

Muri said he?s not sure whether mail-only elections will save money but wants the task force to find out.

?This is all an education issue,? he said. ?My bottom line is to do the best thing possible for the best price.?

    
McCarthy said she believes increased printing and other costs would offset any savings gained by shifting to a vote-by-mail system.

?I think it will be a wash,? she said. ?I?m willing to go through the exercise.?

Pierce County has 405,000 registered voters. In the November general election, more than 70,000 voters cast their ballots at polling places.

At the same time, more than 250,000 voters cast their ballots by mail as either permanent absentee voters or as one-time absentee voters.

State law gives the auditor the authority to require voters to cast ballots by mail if they are among fewer than 200 voters assigned to a specific precinct. So, before forcing all the county?s voters to vote by mail, McCarthy would have to realign the precincts to meet the 200-voter threshold. Task Force at a glance

Pierce County?s Mail-In Voting Advisory Task Force meets at 10 a.m. Wed?nesday in Room 1045 of the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave. S. For information, call Cathy Sala, county council staff, 253-798-6695.

The members of the task force are:

 ? Councilman Dick Muri (R-Steilacoom)

 ? Councilman Tim Farrell (D-Tacoma)

 ? Jerry Costello, chief criminal deputy prosecutor

 ? Steve Gross, County Council staff

 ? Pat Kenney, county budget director

 ? Pat McCarthy, auditor

 ? Skip Stansbury, special assistant to County Executive John Ladenburg

 ? Matt Temmel, performance audit coordinator

 ? Three citizen representatives will be added to the task force later.