Vote-by-Mail: The Real Winner Is Democracy

[merkins]

Oregon's secretary of state writes a good article in the Wash. Post:

While many states were embroiled in fights over touch-screen voting machines and provisional ballots and struggling to find enough people to staff polling places, Oregon once again quietly conducted a presidential election with record turnout and little strife.

Oregon's vote-by-mail system has proved reliable and popular. Critics said that vote-by-mail is prone to fraud. But signature verification of every voter before a ballot is counted is an effective safeguard against fraud.

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Vote-by-mail is voter-friendly, and high turnout in every vote-by-mail election shows that voters like the convenience. Oregonians receive ballots in the mail two weeks before Election Day, allowing ample time to research issues, review and mark the ballot, and eliminating the need to stand in long lines waiting for a polling booth.


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Vote-by-mail provides an automatic paper trail. Every vote-by-mail ballot is read by reliable optical scan machines, and the paper is available should a hand recount become necessary. Mailed ballots are not forwarded by the post office, and the constant updating of voter rolls provided by returned ballots allows Oregon to have accurate and updated voter rolls without the risk of partisan purges.


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An impressive percentage of Oregon's registered voters cast ballots in this election. Each of those voters can be confident that the mechanism of democracy in Oregon suits their needs, runs smoothly and fairly, and, most importantly, protects their votes.

The answer to the nation's voting anxiety is not a national standard that imposes new rules on an outdated system of polling places. The answer is a low-tech, low-cost, reliable and convenient system that makes it easier to vote and easier to count votes. The answer is vote-by-mail.

more at:
http://www.newsisfree.com/iclick/i,66845584,5879,f/

[Ruffhowse]

1. I voted by mail in Washington and it was great!! Very easy. Looks like

there may be an effort to expand it to statewide soon, like Oregon.

[dw]

2. As a long-time Oregon voter, I can say with quiet confidence...

that I trust my state government, and that I know my vote is always counted.

I wonder how many Floridians or Ohioans can say that with confidence.

Or more to the point, how many can't.

[Hello_Kitty]

3. How you vote is not so important as who is counting it.

That's the key. Funny how in states with few complaints of discrepancies that exit poll results mirrored actual votes almost perfectly.

[tibbir]

4. I was able to vote by mail here in Texas since I'm disabled.

It was good to know that my vote at least had a chance to be counted correctly, even the election was in the bag here for Bush regardless.

[diddlysquat]

5. Hi, Tibbir!

I voted by mail here in WA. state. I always do. No time to go to the polls and you can sit down at the kitchen table with your notes and take your time.