In 1998, Oregonians passed an initiative endorsing vote-by-mail. In the following Presidential election, Oregon conducted its vote entirely by mail. Washington voters are following suit (37 out of 39 counties).
The paper ballots are marked in the privacy of one's own home and may be dropped off at community collection centers on election day, dropped off at city and county government offices, or mailed.
The vote-by-mail system is a logical outgrowth of what is also known as "permanent absentee voting." Not all states allow voters to skip the polls without cause, but in states that do, the percentage of voters on the absentee -- paper ballot -- rolls ranges from 20 - 40 percent. By shifting all voters to the same system, the state saves money. In addition, there is the same benefit as the traditional optical scan system at the poll: ballots are easily recounted.
Concerns about fraud include having someone vote "for" someone else, including casting a ballot for a recently deceased voter, or having one spouse overly influence another. There are also issues related to voters who are blind or who have poor vision; there are DRE machines available in selected locations.
See the Vote By Mail Project and VoteAbsentee.us
It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.
- Tom Stoppard
The paper ballots are marked in the privacy of one's own home and may be dropped off at community collection centers on election day, dropped off at city and county government offices, or mailed.
The vote-by-mail system is a logical outgrowth of what is also known as "permanent absentee voting." Not all states allow voters to skip the polls without cause, but in states that do, the percentage of voters on the absentee -- paper ballot -- rolls ranges from 20 - 40 percent. By shifting all voters to the same system, the state saves money. In addition, there is the same benefit as the traditional optical scan system at the poll: ballots are easily recounted.
Concerns about fraud include having someone vote "for" someone else, including casting a ballot for a recently deceased voter, or having one spouse overly influence another. There are also issues related to voters who are blind or who have poor vision; there are DRE machines available in selected locations.
See the Vote By Mail Project and VoteAbsentee.us
It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.
- Tom Stoppard