It was interesting to read Bob Dunning claim this morning that an important election is an odd time for an experiment. I agree that Measure A is an important election, one of the more important that we have faced in this community. The community has a chance to continue its commitment by locally funding half of the deficit left by inflation and cuts to state funding for education.
The experiment he talks about is the all-mail ballot.
He continues, “Yes, the rumors are true. There will be no polling places on Election Day. Matter of fact, there will be no Election Day. Instead, we have an “Election Period,” during which we will be able to cast our votes. By mail. ONLY by mail.”
He does not mention that this move by the school district will save them close to $200,000 if not more. That is two to three teachers right there.
But more odd is that he considers an all-mail ballot to be some sort of experiment.
First of all, more and more people are voting by mail, anyway. An Annenberg [School for Communications and Journalism at USC] article written on October 21, 2010, suggested that “By Election Day, some 40 percent of California voters may have already turned in their ballots by either voting early or voting by mail.”
The article continues, “40 percent of the electorate has requested to vote early with 12 percent of them having already done so.”
In 2010, there were more than 7.3 million absentee ballots issued, up from the previous record of 7.1 million in 2008, a year with a much higher overall turnout.
In June 2010, when we had our city council election, county wide about 40 percent of voters are now either permanent absentee voters or routinely request absentee ballots, according to County Clerk Freddie Oakley. That is up from 30 percent in 2006.
So, already people are voting with their feet and moving to mail in ballots. It is cheaper and more convenient.
It is hard to suggest something is a lab and we are guinea pigs when in fact, people are increasingly voting by mail anyway.
Mr. Dunning has tendency, for some reason, to act as though the world ends at Davis’ borders on some issues. But I’m quite surprised, given his professed affinity for Oregon, that he would not have done more research on this one than he has.
Oregon has the third highest voter turnout in the US and unlike most states which have seen a falling voter turnout, Oregon’s has remained steady for the last 50 years, frequently topping 80%.
Oregon has used an all-mail ballot now since 1998. From 1998 to 2000, Oregon reduced their election costs by just under 20%. Oregon is not alone. The State of Washington is all-mail, except for Pierce County where Tacoma is located.
While critics may be concerned about voter fraud, there has been only one case of voter fraud reported in Oregon and none in Washington.
And just why would a mail-in ballot increase voter fraud? Polling places do not require ID anyway.
Not only that, but California is slowly moving the in the direction of all-mail ballots as well. Four California cities — Burbank, Modesto, Santa Barbara and Seal Beach — conduct elections using all-mail ballots.
This is hardly an experiment, we are hardly in a lab, this is the wave of the future.
According to an article from June 2010 in “Western City,” a publication of the California League of Cities, “Burbank City Clerk Margarita Campos became interested in all-mail ballots after the city tried it in 2001 for a special election that garnered one of the highest turnouts ever. ‘What interested me is that it provided a real safeguard against voter fraud,’ she observes.”
Locally, the effort to allow DJUSD to use an all-mail ballot and thus save money was led by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada.
She introduced AB 1681, which specifically allowed Yolo County “to conduct up to three all-mail local elections and conduct a study to gather information on voter participation, voter demographics and election costs. Upon completion of the study, the Yolo County registrar of voters would send a data report to the Legislature and California secretary of state to help determine if all-mail ballot voting is a successful format for local elections and whether it is worth expanding to future elections.”
“The fact that it has worked in other states for decades and has increased participation over time means to me that it’s valid as a point of study in California,” said Assemblymember Yamada.
The League of Cities writes, “Yamada predicts that the legislation will help increase voter participation because it can be difficult for the elderly and people with disabilities or other challenges to get to the polls. She’s also curious to discover whether there are partisan implications to vote-by-mail elections. Permanent absentee voters tend to be more conservative. However, a 1998 University of Michigan study found that mail ballots did not directly impact mobilization or retention of Democrats or Republicans.”
They continue, “Yamada thinks that Yolo County, with its mix of urban and rural communities, is an ideal area for studying all-mail ballots. Half of the county’s 200,000 residents are registered to vote.”
“Exercising the right to vote is the basic building block of our democracy,” she says. “Many people fought for and died for the right to vote. We should support any effort to protect and strengthen the privilege.”
So in this sense, yes, I suppose this is an experiment, but one that has been well-tested in two states and numerous local communities.
And oh, by the way, did I mention it will save the district $200,000? Again that is two to three teachers.
I am one of the holdouts for the old system, preferring to walk into the polling place, but not at the cost of $200,000 and not at the cost of teachers’ jobs. I’ll get over it and so should my friend, Bob Dunning.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
David,
In your opinion, do you think the all mail-in-ballot will hurt or help Measure A?
It’s my belief that it will hurt Measure A’s chances of approval. The pro crowd is organized with many endorsements so their voters were already energized to get out and vote.
On the other hand the no side has been very quiet without any organization and their enthusiasm seems much lower.
Now that every voter will have a ballot in their mailbox and the ease of just mailing it back in I believe it will bring out more no voters who probably wouldn’t have voted otherwise. Remember, every extra no vote takes two yes votes in order for the measure to pass.
More and more I think it does not matter. If the Yes supporters cannot get their voters to return their ballots, they will not prevail. There was a time when absentee ballots favored conservatives, but in the last ten years that advantage has disappeared.
Mail-in is the best we’re going to get, and I agree with you that we really don’t need further testing to “prove the concept”. That stated, eventually we’ll get to the “eVote”, but not until our current “high-tech-savvy” SoS – and our local registrar – get their heads out of the sand.
dmg: “The League of Cities writes, “Yamada predicts that the legislation will help increase voter participation because it can be difficult for the elderly and people with disabilities or other challenges to get to the polls.”
This makes no sense as a justification. The elderly and disabled can obtain absentee ballots anytime they want, so they can send their ballots in by mail already.
Can you mail your ballots in UP UNTIL the last day? Or must the ballot be in BY the last day? I tend not to vote until the day of, depending on whether there is some late breaking development – altho I am for saving money whenever possible…
Neutral: “Mail-in is the best we’re going to get, and I agree with you that we really don’t need further testing to “prove the concept”. That stated, eventually we’ll get to the “eVote”, but not until our current “high-tech-savvy” SoS – and our local registrar – get their heads out of the sand.”
Not everyone has a computer – or do you mean vote by email as an option? Now there is a process ripe for voter fraud…
“Not everyone has a computer – or do you mean vote by email as an option? Now there is a process ripe for voter fraud…”
I can see it now, the Democrats will want to put an extra tax on all computers sold in order to buy the needy a new computer so they can evote.
Anyone who believes in America and that we are rapidly losing our rights to an out-of-control government needs to actively work to stop voter fraud! Register on the website at http://www.truethevote.org/ and let’s get going before our votes are completely taken away from us.
I am a little worried about voter fraud but I am more concerned about social interaction. When we vote we interact with people we haven’t seen since the last time we voted. Instead of voting by e-mail we should be encouraging WALKING to the polls. I have an idea… Let’s turn picnic day into a computer held event. It would sure save money…
I’ve been on mandatory absentee ballot for years, since the rural area I live is too sparsely populated for a precinct station. If I haven’t mailed it in, I can drop it off at any precinct station on the day of the election. Is there going to be any provision for day-of-election drop-off?
As I understand it there will be a limited number of polling places open for that purpose.
The rule has been that the ballots must be RECEIVED by elections prior to the closing of polls. [b]Postmarks do not count[/b]. Many absentee ballots are delivered to the polls while they are still open.
Registered voters in the DJUSD will have the opportunity for a voting-in-person experience even with the school district’s vote-by-mail-only election. Your Measure A ballot will arrive in your U.S. mail the week of April 4. Take that ballot to our very own Yolo County library next to North Davis Elementary on the election day of your choice before 8pm on May 3. The elections office is placing a ballot box inside the library. It is the shape of an full size U.S. mailbox but is painted a pretty light blue with the seal of the great County of Yolo on the side. The door says “deposit ballots here” so you can complete the ballot and deposit it in the ballot box in traditional Election Day style.
While you are there you can tour the newly remodeled library and maybe even check out a book or two.
The only other in-person voting location is in the Elections Office in the County Admistration building in Woodland.
If you lose your ballot you can request a replacement from elections.
Sheila
If you can’t watch your ballots being counted, you have no idea if your vote was actually counted or not.
If you don’t understand this most fundamental requirement of democracy, you need to wake up and get educated.
Computerized vote counting, early voting and mailing in ballots do not allow for proper oversight and protection of our ballots and an open vote count.
Our elections have been rigged for decades because we, the American people, and woefully ignorant and utterly lacking in vigilance when it comes to the most basic stewardship of our franchise.
Anyone who supports this mail-in ballot process is doing a treasonous disservice to those of us who understand how the process works and would never, ever, in a million years, support anything other than a public hand count of ballots cast in the precinct, on election day.
People who say “no voter fraud was reported” are just tragically ignorant.
The entire point is that we can’t KNOW whether there is fraud. Who has oversight of the ballots? What foxes are guarding the chicken coop, and do we expect them to tell us when they’ve committed fraud??
WAKE UP PEOPLE. You have no idea what’s going on. You want to know why this country is in the toilet? Because you are sleep, and are allowing it to be dismantled from within.
Democracy requires that we show up to vote. If you can’t manage that, it shouldn’t mean the undermining of the democratic process for the rest of us.
[i]Computerized vote counting, early voting and mailing in ballots do not allow for proper oversight and protection of our ballots and an open vote count.[/i]
Do you think that absentee ballots are miscounted? Those are typically mail-in.
wdf1: “Do you think that absentee ballots are miscounted? Those are typically mail-in.”
Seems to me I remember in the Bush-Gore election, Gore wanted to ignore/not count all military absentee ballots…