Critics Complain About Possibility of Voter Fraud, But Studies Show Few Instances of Confirmed Voter Fraud in Absentee Voting –
In May, the Davis School District held an all-mail election for the parcel tax. For all of the acrimony generated mainly by one columnist for a local paper, the election came off without a hitch, as it has in numerous other communities and, indeed, in entire states.
While that number is not much higher, for their efforts, the school district saved perhaps $200,000 over what they would have spent had it been a conventional election.
Or, perhaps not quite that level of savings. Freddie Oakley reported that the Measure P election cost $220,000 while the Measure A election cost just $93,000. That still represents a substantial savings.
Now, legislation authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada will allow an all-mail voting pilot project to come to Yolo County. After three attempts, the legislation was signed into law on Monday by Governor Jerry Brown.
The new law will analyze the effects of all-mail ballot voting on local elections and report the findings back to the Legislature, according to a release from Assemblymember Yamada’s office.
“We are very pleased to have this bill signed on its third attempt, and with bipartisan support,” said Assemblymember Yamada. “A defining feature of this pilot elections program is in its study element. The data collected on the effects of all-mail ballot voting may help guide the future of elections in California.”
The administration and cost of traditional poll voting has become increasingly burdensome to local districts during this period of economic difficulty. At the same time, with each election, more and more voters are choosing to exercise their right-to-vote by choosing permanent Vote by Mail (VBM) status. Voting by mail is also emerging as a more efficient way to conduct an election.
The Yolo County Clerk-Recorder can now conduct up to three (3) local elections using mail ballots as the primary voting system. These elections would not be held on the same date as general or statewide elections. At least one polling location per city will remain open on Election Day to accommodate those who are unable or prefer not to vote using a mailed ballot. Secure ballot drop off locations, established by the county, will also be available to make it easy and convenient for the voter to deliver his or her ballot.
Yolo County will then be required to report the outcomes of the all-mail ballot elections to the Legislature. The report will include statistics on cost, the turnout of different populations, the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons why they were rejected, any voter fraud problems and any other problems that became known to the county during the election. The report will compare the success of the all-mailed ballot elections to similar elections not conducted as all-mailed ballot elections in Yolo County.
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed two similar bills by Assemblymember Yamada, AB 1228 of 2009 and AB 1681 of 2010.
“I appreciate Assemblymember Yamada’s perseverance and hard work on this legislation on behalf of Yolo County,” said Yolo County Clerk-Recorder Freddie Oakley. “We look forward to conducting this study and expect to find that these elections save money and improve voter turnout in local elections.”
AB 413 will go into effect on January 1, 2012 and sunsets on January 1, 2018. The report must be delivered to the Legislature within six months after the date of the final all-mailed ballot election outlined in the bill.
Crtitics of voting by mail have cited a 2001 report by the Federal Election Commission in which they find, “”Growing use of absentee voting has turned this area of voting into the most likely opportunity for election fraud now encountered by law enforcement officials.”
The report adds, “These opportunities for abuse should be contained, not enlarged.”
The issue of election fraud has been overblown in general, and empirical data does not show a rise in fraud resulting from these elections.
As Assemblymember Yamada argues, each signature on the ballot will be checked against the voter’s signature on the registration form. That is all that happens now anyway.
As we pointed out back in March and April, when the concern was raised about the Measure A election, over seven million absentee ballots were used in 2010, resulting in no complaints of fraud.
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 continued, “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.
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.
“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.”
—David M. Greenwald reporting
The fear of voter fraud is actually a red herring, as we know from how ALEC has created a false narrative in order to get legislation passed in conservative states that actually suppress the vote. What we should fear, is that it is actually the electronic scanning and tabulating machinery that can be used to falsely count, record, and tally the vote. Maybe not in Yolo County, but this is proven to be the case elsewhere. Yolo County and the excellent County Board of Elections that should introduce Hand-Counted Paper Ballots. Only by using this system will we really make sure that we have a fair, accurate and honest election result.
First, I support the all mail ballot… particularly in Yolo County where Tony Bernhard, Freddie Oakley, and the staff at Elections, have set a ‘high bar’, and consistently clear it with apparent ease… that being said, understand that there are some consequences… unfortunately, some of the “community” of going to the local polling place and meeting friends and neighbors, will need another venue… HS students will no longer have the opportunity to get credit for taking a day off from school, see the importance of exercising our voting rights, participating in exercising this powerful right (and responsibility) and getting some (hopefully) “soda money” for their effort… some seniors will lose the bonus of earning ~ $120 for working a day at the polling place.
I’ve worked a great # of elections as a poll-worker… I think the most poignant moment was when an elderly man, with a thick Russian accent, brought his grand-daughter (~ 6) into the polling place, and painstakingly explained each step of the voting process, with the clear intention of imparting to her the sanctity and importance of voting… I’m guessing that there were many years of his life where voting was a “sham”.
However, we may not have the luxury of living a Norman Rockwell existence. It appears that it is time to move on, and treasure the memories of the traditional elections. I suspect, at least early on, there will be a small # of polling places, even when we go to the mail ballot. If for no other reason, a 44 cent stamp could be deemed to be a “poll tax”, which is illegal.
BTW, “absentee voting” is an anachronistic term, and not particularly helpful to the discussion. Used to be that you basically had to prove you had NO CHOICE other than voting by mail. This has not been true in California for decades. Very many people are vote by mail voters (I’m one”:
BTW, “absentee voting” is an anachronistic term, and not particularly helpful to the discussion. Used to be that you basically had to prove you had NO CHOICE other than voting by mail. This has not been true in California for decades. Very many people are vote by mail voters (I’m one) who turn in their ballots on Election Day (in case new facts or stupid moves occur at the last minute.
[my earlier post can/should be deleted… I ‘dumb-thumbed’ and hit “enter” by mistake]
[quote]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. [/quote]
I am not following the logic here. The elderly and disabled have had the option to vote by mail for years. So IMHO this claim is bogus/pure political theater. Nevertheless, voting by mail does save money, and I’m all for that. As much as I would like to continue voting in person, for reasons similar to hpierce, from a practical standpoint it probably does not make sense anymore. And I agree w hpierce – I do not vote until “the day of”…
Ironically, if you think about it, the all mail-in balloting disenfranchises the elderly and disabled from voting “the day of”…
I’m sure in person voting costs money, but it seems like money well spent to me. Eliminating any option for voting in order to save money is kind of sad. It seems like voting is pretty important. I’d prefer to see mechanisms to limit the amount of elections rather than options for voting.
[i]”In May, the Davis School District held an all-mail election for the parcel tax.”[/i]
That had nothing to do with this change in the state law. Schools have had this choice for a number of years, and many districts have conducted all mail ballots for years before Davis did it.
YAMADA: [i] “… 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.”[/i]
ROBERTS: [i]”So IMHO this claim is bogus/pure political theater.”[/i]
Yamada’s reasoning about the elderly is flawed here–not surprising for her–but the point does hold that all-mail balloting, ceteris paribus, produces higher turn-out for all groups of voters, both male and female, all income and age and race categories. This has been widely studied by political scientists, ever since Oregon went to all-mail balloting many years ago.
To make Yamada’s claim true, I would modify it to this: “… the legislation will help increase voter participation because [s]it can be difficult for the elderly and people with disabilities or other challenges to get to the polls[/s] people have 2 or 3 or 4 weeks to pick one day of their choice to vote and mail in their ballots in an all-mail election, but in a traditional election, if it is bad weather that day or a potential voter is too busy at work that day or a person has physical or other transportation challenges that day and cannot get someone to help him get to the polls or if a potential voter simply forgot that one day, then he is less likely to cast a ballot in a traditional election.”
Voter fraud is hard to prove, but there have been many cases recently that indicate it is quite common, and moreover that absentee and mail voting make it more likely.
See for example the following timely article, just out, indicating extensive absentee ballot fraud by Democrats in Rensselaer County.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Arrest-widens-ballot-probe-1774494.php
Voter fraud is incredibly damaging to a society. If the citizens feel that elections are rigged then they lose faith in the legitimacy of the government. The social glue that holds society together then starts to fall apart. We see this in countries such as Greece or Mexico, where cheating on taxes is endemic and respect for the government is nonexistent.
In summary: preventing voter fraud is much more important than making voting a little more convenient. I am very suspicious of the motivations of those who virulently oppose safeguards against voter fraud.
[quote]… if you think about it, the all mail-in balloting disenfranchises the elderly and disabled from voting “the day of”[/quote]
Three weeks to vote from your own home compared to one day to vote at some county designated site… Which of these strikes you as more of an imposition on voters that might deter them from voting?
Kind of off topic but has anyone here received their water rate letter in order to oppose? I read a letter in the Enterprise where the person said that she and 17 of her neighbors haven’t received their letters. I haven’t received mine yet either. Here’s part of her letter to the editor:
“If you would like to protest the rate increase for water and sanitary services in Davis, you need to mail in the form ASAP! The hearing is on Sept. 6. The city claims it has sent the form out to all residents. It has not. Not a single one of my neighbors in Central Davis received the form. I also know of several friends and family members throughout Davis who have not received the form.
When I went to the city to ask about this, they dissmissed it as some error with my receiving or losing my mail. I highly doubt that the 17 people I have spoke to are as unlucky as I appear to be. The city would love for those forms to “get lost in the mail.”
No letters yet to my North Davis neighborhood. I wonder if the outside of the envelope will make any mention of the important document inside or will it be an uninformative envelope, easily discarded unopened.
[i]”has anyone here received their water rate letter in order to oppose?”[/i]
Yes, a few days ago.
[i]”I wonder if the outside of the envelope will make any mention of the important document inside?”[/i]
The envelope says on the front in red letters, “Utility Rate Protest Form Enclosed.” The other print, the return address and the postage paid verbiage, is in black.
[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Um0rKVzF80w/TkH3zkZjMfI/AAAAAAAAAfM/Er1Qli_CJEo/s1600/envelope.jpg[/img]
[quote]erm: … if you think about it, the all mail-in balloting disenfranchises the elderly and disabled from voting “the day of”
Justin Kudo: Three weeks to vote from your own home compared to one day to vote at some county designated site… Which of these strikes you as more of an imposition on voters that might deter them from voting?[/quote]
I was thinking in terms of polling places. If voting was still done the normal way, someone who is disabled can go to a voting poll very close to their home; whereas for all-mail voting, there is only one place in town to turn in a ballot the day of, which may be very far from their home and thus virtually inaccessible to the elderly and disabled…
Just received my water notice. It’s going right back out in the mail with a big “NO” on increasing our rates. I hope everyone follows, let’s make a statement.
[quote]I hope everyone follows, let’s make a statement. [/quote]Even if we don’t agree with ‘the statement”?
hpierce, that’s why I said “I hope”.
Why does it have to be either / or ? In theory, if we had enough money to hold whatever kind of election we wanted, wouldn’t we want to encourage any kind of voting that worked best for somebody?
Again, voting seems pretty important- why not increase the options overall?
ERM
“and thus virtually inaccessible to the elderly and disabled” Except that on the other hand, they can still either chose to mail it in, or if they want to wait until the last day, can have someone drop it off for them as I did for my son in the last election. I can see pros and cons to this, and will personally miss the ritual of voting in person as was eloquently described hpierce. But I suspect it is time for us to move on as Oregon and Washington have done.
I have spoken to a few elderly people in my family and this is what they said in paraphrase- They will no longer vote because someone took away their right to walk into a polling place as they have done for so many years. Also they no longer feel that their vote is “secret” (someone is going to have to open those ballots with the signature on the envelope and see how they voted)
It’s really hard to push change onto the elderly who are set in their ways and have done things a certain way for so many years. I understand that it is a cost savings but dont use the elderly as a platform for politics.
[quote]”and thus virtually inaccessible to the elderly and disabled” Except that on the other hand, they can still either chose to mail it in, or if they want to wait until the last day, can have someone drop it off for them as I did for my son in the last election. I can see pros and cons to this, and will personally miss the ritual of voting in person as was eloquently described hpierce. But I suspect it is time for us to move on as Oregon and Washington have done.[/quote]
You are exactly where I am on this issue – I miss voting in person for various reasons, but understand the need to move on from a financial perspective…
[quote]I have spoken to a few elderly people in my family and this is what they said in paraphrase- They will no longer vote because someone took away their right to walk into a polling place as they have done for so many years. Also they no longer feel that their vote is “secret” (someone is going to have to open those ballots with the signature on the envelope and see how they voted) [/quote]
Very interesting observation. By the way, who is using the elderly as a platform for politics, in your opinion? I’m not sure I’m following…
Just helped my old retired neighbor turn in her water rate opposition letter. She had no idea. How many more like that?
David, any idea of how many signatures it would take to get this on a ballot?
ERM- This is why I made the political platform statement
“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”
Politcians shouldnt try to make decisions and do favors for a group of people and they actually do more harm than good. BTW – I am disabled and I can get to the polls just fine.
To Technichick: Thanks for the clarification…