Counties elect to vote by mail
Columbia and Garfield counties have already made the switch, and Walla Walla County's auditor would like to do so, too.

By Carrie Chicken    Walla Walla Union-Bulletin   16 June 2005
It will be voting as usual this fall for a majority of voters in Columbia and Garfield counties, who already use absentee or vote-by-mail ballots.

But for the rest of the registered voters, greeting an election worker at the polling place, huddling over a ballot in a portable booth, and personally slipping their ballot into the ballot box is a thing of the past.

Both county's commissioners this month approved resolutions making the counties exclusively vote-by-mail. The state Legislature passed a bill during the last session making it an option for
counties to go entirely to mail-in balloting.

Cost savings is the main reason for the change.

Garfield County officials estimate it will save the county $400 to $600 for each election, deputy Auditor Peggy Laughery said.

Columbia County Elections Supervisor Nadine Shearer said the cost per voter in the November 2004 election was $5.97, compared to $3.82 for those using the mail.

There are 2,535 active voters in Columbia County, with 67 percent using absentee or vote-by-mail ballots in the last election.

Sixty-four percent of Garfield County voters used mail balloting in November, which was 64 percent of the voters.

In both counties, the return rate for mailed ballots was considerably higher than polling place voter turnout.

Walla Walla County Auditor Karen Martin, on a break from a meeting of state auditors in Walla Walla Wednesday, said she has decided to present options to county commissioners here.

``We would love to go with all vote-by-mail. The accountability is much better,' she said.

Walla Walla County voters vote by absentee ballot at a lower rate than Garfield and Columbia Counties, with 57 percent using the mail. Twelve Walla Walla County precincts already vote-by-mail.

Martin received some public response when ``we had to change to (voting at) the Fairgrounds, and a lot of people didn't like that,' she said.

Martin is weighing the cost of voting by mail versus polling places.

If the county decides not to use the mail ballot option, it will have to buy voting machines accessible to the handicapped, which is required under the Help America Vote Act. Martin said the 15 to 20 machines would have touch screens, and costs could run between $67,500 and $100,000.

Although the replacement equipment will be federally funded, ``that's still tax dollars, and that money could be used for other things,' she said.

Options she will present to commissioners include continuing to hold elections as they are presently held, going to vote-by-mail without public input, with public input, or seeking voter preference in an advisory ballot in November.

The last option is probably the riskiest, because if the voters say ``no' the county will have to scramble to get equipment by Jan. 1, Martin said.

If the county later decided to change to mail-in ballots, ``you would have a bunch of machinery on your hands that you have to store,' Martin said.

There is no deadline for choosing the vote-by-mail option, but the decision needs to be made far enough in advance of elections to notify voters and to order ballots, Martin said.

Voters in Columbia County affected by the change will receive a letter from the Auditor's office, Shearer said.

Commissioners in Columbia and Garfield counties conducted public meetings to allow the public to make comment on the proposed change, but there was no public comment at any of the hearings.

``We haven't gotten any negative feedback, but we haven't gotten much feedback at all,' Laughery said.

OTHER VOTE-BY-MAIL COUNTIES

Counties which have chosen to use the vote-by-mail option include Whatcom, Cowlitz, Franklin, Mason, San Juan, Adams, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pend Oreille and Skagit. Clallam, Ferry, Okanogan and Skamania counties were vote-by-mail counties before the legislation passed.