Klickitat County Is Going Vote By Mail: Monday, June 04, 2007Auditor |
Klickitat County’s elections are changing to Vote-by-Mail
While going to the polls is a tradition and considered by many to be a “way of life”, poll sites are becoming part of history in many areas of Washington State. Going to the polls on Election Day was considered by many to be not only their “civic duty” but a “tradition” and a time to visit with their neighbors.
Klickitat County is one of four counties in Washington State who does not conduct all-mail elections. The other three Washington counties are Kittitas, Pierce, and King. It is anticipated that King County will implement all-mail elections by the fall of 2008.
As of the last general election, about 64% of Klickitat County’s registered voters currently vote by mail. In this changing age of technology, this percentage continues to grow. At this time, 67% of our registered voters are voting by mail.
In our changing electronic world, life has become hectic for the majority of people. The increase in voters choosing to vote by mail could be attributed to the convenience of sitting at home and reviewing political information before casting their ballot. Ballots can either be mailed or dropped off at the Auditor’s office. With the implementation of mail ballot elections, a permanent drop-off site will be established in the west end of the county for those who do not choose to mail their ballot.
Each poll-site election has an election board for either one or multiple precincts. Election preparation includes many steps, including delivery of all ballots and election supplies to the Poll Site Inspectors the day before the election and securing the return to the courthouse. Trained poll-workers are difficult for the Auditor to retain. In our fast-paced society the vast majority of people work at either full or part-time positions. Many of our valued poll-workers are retired and are finding it more and more difficult to serve in that position. The hours are long (14 hours), the equipment is heavy and awkward and ever-changing technology can pose additional challenges.
The small number of poll site voters creates a disproportionately high expense for polling places. After the November, 2006 General Election, one precinct’s poll workers wrote a note to the Auditor’s office, requesting their precinct be changed to vote-by-mail; they had less than five voters the entire day. A minimum number of poll workers must be hired and ballots specific to poll sites (rather than absentee) must be printed, regardless of the number of voters that will use them. Estimated monetary savings could be as much as $10,000 per each county-wide election.
Voting by mail is secure. Every signature on each ballot is verified against the signature on the voter-registration record. Ballots are kept under lock and key, usually in secured cages. The ballot storage area is restricted to election personnel, no one person is left alone with ballots. A log is maintained of entry into the secured ballot locations.
Data on poll-site operation expenses and vote-by-mail cost estimates vs. loss of a “way of life” here in Klickitat County were heavily weighed by our Commissioners. It is not only costly but burdensome on the election personnel to administer both poll-site and mail elections simultaneously. With poll-site voting and 67% of the county presently voting by mail, the Auditor is actually administering two entirely different styles of elections.
Statewide, administration of elections has changed drastically over the last five years. Since 2004, Election Administrators have had over 350 regulations either changed or added to govern election administration. With the closure of the 2007 Legislative Session, many additional laws were either passed or amended.
Change is not always easy but not necessarily adverse in the end. Each individual situation needs to be evaluated on its own merits. With more and more of Washington’s 39 counties changing to vote-by-mail elections, the Board of Commissioners wrestled with the question “Should Klickitat County be the last county with regard to poll site elections?” It was not without many discussions and varied opinions that a decision was made to change the electoral process of our wonderful county. On May 15, 2007, the Board of Commissioners approved Resolution No. 10307, changing the administration of elections in Klickitat County from poll site to mail ballot. The Auditor will be providing each registered voter written notice of the change
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Contact:
Brenda Sorensen; Auditor
205 S Columbus, MS-CH-2
Room 203
Goldendale, WA 98620
Fax: 509 773-4244
Phone: 509 773-4001 |
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