Mail vote may be put on ballot
County Executive Aaron Reardon wants the public to decide an advisory measure on all-mail voting, but the County Council resists the idea.

By Jeff Switzer    Everett Herald Writer    31 August 2005

EVERETT - Snohomish County voters should have a say in whether the county keeps its polling places open or switches to an all-mail ballot, County Executive Aaron Reardon said Tuesday.

The way to do that is to put an advisory measure on the Nov. 8 ballot, he said.

The county faces spending $1 million to keep polling places open next year, driven by a change in state law that requires paper audits on all electronic voting machines.

The machines should not be purchased at this time, and the money could be better spent, Reardon said.

"It comes down to priorities," he said. "It's more prudent to fund senior centers and the law and justice system and veterans affairs than it is to buy polling equipment."

Reardon sent a memo on Tuesday urging the Snohomish County Council to put the question before voters.

"I think voters in this county support an all-mail ballot," Reardon said. "Citizens have a right to decide how elections are conducted."

County Councilman John Koster criticized the proposed advisory ballot as a "cop-out for electeds."

Switching to all-mail elections would avoid the $1 million needed to buy 875 paper audit machines costing $1,180 each. It takes about four months to get the machines once they are ordered.

Thirty of the state's 39 counties have switched to all-mail elections. Most switched this year after the Legislature allowed counties to do so.

Chelan and Spokane counties will have advisory ballot measures this fall asking voters whether they want to switch to all-mail elections.

In a 3-2 vote Aug. 17, a majority of the Snohomish County Council, including Koster, declined to switch to all-mail elections. The council has scheduled a public hearing Sept. 14 to consider spending $1 million on the paper audit machines.

Even if the money is approved, Snohomish County can't meet the January deadline for having the paper audit mechanism for its electronic voting machines, county Auditor Bob Terwilliger said.

The firm that manufactures the paper audit machines used in Snohomish County won't be approved by the state for use by disabled voters until January, said Paul Miller, state voting systems manager. The machines first need national certification, Miller said.

Officials couldn't say what penalties Snohomish County would face if it misses the deadline. A good-faith effort to comply with voting rules is the best defense, Terwilliger and state officials said.

The U.S. Department of Justice handles voting system compliance, and officials there could not be reached on Tuesday.

Since the county can't meet the January deadline, Koster supports a delay in spending $1 million on paper audit machines until after the Legislature meets next year.

"I think sooner or later we'll all be vote by mail, whether I like it or not," Koster said.

Terwilliger said the Legislature nearly passed a law this year requiring all-mail ballots in every county.

"It is entirely possible that the January 2006 Legislature will convert the entire state to a vote-by-mail environment, establishing one uniform voting system statewide," Terwilliger said.

If so, he said, the $1 million in paper audit devices won't be needed. Only 30 would be needed for disabled voters, and would cost about $35,400.

Terwilliger has pushed for switching to an all-mail election as a cheaper alternative to keeping polling places open. In addition to the $1 million, the county would face $1.2 million in higher ongoing election costs to have both polling places and absentee ballots, Terwilliger said.

About 61 percent of voters cast absentee ballots in Snohomish County, and 39 percent vote at the polls. The share of absentee voters in the county is expected to climb to 70 percent by the end of 2006.