County to consider all-mail elections

By Patrick J. Sullivan
Port Townsend Leader    13 April 2005

Jefferson County is moving toward conducting elections totally with mail-in ballots. The Board of County Commissioners on Monday advanced the idea toward a public forum, tentatively set for early May.

Auditor Donna Eldridge requested BOCC direction on whether to continue using traditional polling places and the absentee/vote-by-mail system, or going totally to mail-in ballots.

"Vote-by-mail is becoming increasingly popular with the

 
voters," Eldridge said Tuesday, "and it would save the county money and make elections easier to conduct."

Twelve of the county's 31 precincts are already all-mail. Voters in other precincts may request an absentee/vote-by-mail ballot.

In the general election 2000, the county recorded 53 percent of voters voting by mail. In election 2004, the total using a mailed ballot was 72 percent. On a regular, ongoing basis, 66 percent of county voters choose or use mail-in ballots, Eldridge said.

This is the time to consider a change because the Help America Vote Act, which Congress passed in 2002, takes effect Jan. 1, 2006. The federal law requires counties to buy electronic voting machines, also known as "touch screens." Counting existing polling places, Jefferson County would need to buy 15 or 16 machines. Each costs about $6,000.

With an all-mail election, the county would need only two machines to serve people with disabilities: one for use at the courthouse, and one as backup.

The county has $127,500 in federal money to help with what Eldridge said could be a $216,000 bill to fully comply with the Help American Vote Act. Switching to an all-mail election would allow the $127,500 to be spent on other election needs associated with the new rules.

The state Legislature is now considering a change that would allow counties to go all-mail without splitting precincts. Clallam, Ferry, Okanogan, Pend Oreille and Skamania counties are presently all-mail elections. Lewis, Mason, Skagit, Whatcom and Yakima are moving to all-mail, Eldridge noted.

Eldridge acknowledges concerns expressed by Commissioners Pat Rodgers, David Sullivan and Phil Johnson about losing the "paper trail" that comes with touch-screen voting machines. Eldridge is confident an all-mail election, with the use of a touch-screen machine at the courthouse for those who need it, is an accountable option.

"Now, we conduct two elections: one at the polls and one with absentee/vote-by-mail ballots," Eldridge said. "In our last general election the challenges we had were at the polls with provisional ballots. We would be able to minimize those discrepancies because we could concentrate on conducting the election all-mail."

Eldridge said that an all-mail election last November would have saved the county $6,000. The average cost-per-voter was $4.41 for each vote cast at the polls, and $1.76 for mailed ballots. Cost savings would be in poll worker wages, building rental and poll books, she said. An all-mail election would increase the cost of envelopes and postage.

A lower election cost would also decrease the cost that fire districts, school districts and other entities pay as a pro-rated share of an overall election's expenses.

Eldridge agrees with commissioner comments that if an all-mail option is used, staff could be at -box sites on election days in places such as Quilcene, Brinnon and the Port Townsend Community Center, to help with the transition away from a polling place.