[EM] Oregon First To Use Mail-In Ballot

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

Obviously with mail-in ballots, there can be more complex election methods 
used (YES/NO, Number Votes (1, 2, etc.), scale votes (0 to 100 scale), more 
(?)).
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Oregon First To Use Mail-In Ballot

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's vote-by-mail system, the first in the nation, 
has given lobbyist John Hellen an extra weapon in his fight against a 
gun-control measure - time. 

Ballots will be mailed starting Oct. 20, nearly three weeks before Election 
Day, giving voters time to consider the 26 initiatives and numerous 
candidates - and the freedom to vote at any time in that period. 

That lengthy voting window is transforming the way Oregon's special interest 
groups and politicians campaign. They can tap into county databases to find 
out who hasn't yet voted, then bombard those voters with phone calls, 
mailings, even personal visits to try to win them over. 

``We have the ability to track when people will vote. You can draw 
generalizations about who's voting and you target the voters you're trying to 
get to,'' said Hellen, who is fighting a ballot measure that would require 
criminal background checks for all sales at gun shows. 

Critics question whether the new system preserves the secrecy of the ballot. 

``The mail-only ballot is an invitation to organize and mechanize fraud,'' 
said Deborah Phillips, chairwoman of a Virginia-based watchdog group, the 
Voting Integrity Project. 

In 1998, the Voting Integrity Project filed a lawsuit trying to block 
Oregon's mail ballot, contending it violated federal law requiring 
congressional and presidential elections to take place on the same day in 
November. 

A federal judge dismissed the case; Phillips' group is awaiting a verdict on 
its appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Oregonians passed statewide vote-by-mail in 1998 after using the system for 
years in local contests and some special elections. On May 16, the state 
became the first to use an all-mail ballot in a primary. 

Under Oregon's system, there are no more polling places. Voters can fill in 
ballots at home, then mail them, take them to drop boxes, or have someone 
else drop them off. 

Proponents say it increases voter turnout by at least 10 percent by 
eliminating the need to go to a polling place. 

In addition, voters have time to think about the candidates and the measures 
at leisure, instead of struggling with their decisions inside a polling 
booth. 

``The positive thing is now you've got 18 days to get some information,'' 
said Michael Cox, assistant director of the Multnomah County elections 
division. 

The mail ballot reduces the cost of elections in Oregon by more than $3 
million, since there's no longer a need to hire people to run polling places. 

Critics say the mail ballot offers too many possibilities for fraud. 

``The key problem here is we've lost control of the ballot,'' said Bill 
Lunch, who teaches political science at Oregon State University. ``The 
incentive is too high for these things not to surface.'' 

The vote-at-home system also is proving to be a double-edged sword for 
special interest groups and politicians. 

The lengthy voting period means lobbyists and politicians have to work at 
full tilt for nearly three weeks, rather than just a few days before Election 
Day, to attract and keep voters' attention. 

``It's exhausting for the campaigners and perhaps the voters,'' said Dan 
Lavey, political consultant for George W. Bush's Oregon campaign. 

``It's like the movie 'Groundhog Day,''' he said. ``You wake up every morning 
for 2 1/2 weeks and it's Election Day.''
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