Arizona:
The jury is still out on mail-in ballots. I think, if handled properly, it might help eliminate double voting, illegal alien voting, etc. Depends largely on the regristration process and control of the ballot process..
12/05/02
Next town election to be voted by mail.
Expected to increase voter participation, but some council members are cautious
Town officials plan to try out their first "mail-ballot election" in the spring when the only question on the ballot is expected to be a renewal of the town's franchise agreement with Arizona Public Service.
"It will be our first mail-in ballot too," Judy Swartz, APS franchise project manager, told the council Monday night. " ... it's a trial for us, just like for you, and we're excited to see what the results will be." After discussion among the council, it was determined the ballot will carry return postage, courtesy of APS.
The purpose of the franchise agreement is to allow APS to construct, maintain and operate the facilities necessary to serve the town and its citizens, Swartz said.
The franchise agreement also establishes a fee APS pays to the town for use of the town's right-of-way. In the past, this has amounted to 2 percent of APS's commercial and retail revenue in Florence, which last year was $124,076. The new agreement will add more classes of service to include irrigation and industrial - everything but street lights - to raise the town's fee slightly to an estimated $124,644.
Voter turnout to approve franchise agreements has been typically low in the 51 communities in which APS has such agreements, Swartz said. However, approval among the handful of voters showing up is typically high. "Seventy percent (of voters approving) is the lowest we've ever received," Swartz said. She said it's not unusual for 86 percent of voters to approve a franchise agreement.
Although the mail-in ballot is attractive for its convenience and potential for cost savings, council members had concerns.
"I don't think it's a good way to go," Vice Mayor Ty Morgan said. He said verifying the signature on the ballot against the signature on file with the County Recorder is apparently the only fraud protection.
Council member Tom Smith said he'd like to see this election done "as one experiment, not future voting." His own poll on Main Street found seven for and 62 against it, he said. "If it's for persons running for office, they're against it at this time."
Town Clerk Lisa Garcia said the council's approval would only cover this election, and if the town wishes to vote by mail in the future, it would require council approval again.
Council member Tom Rankin said, "It's the wave of the future," and if it leads to more people casting ballots, "we'd be crazy not to do it."
Council member Jerry Pomeroy asked how many people used mail-in ballots in the last Florence election. Garcia said she did not have that figure with her Monday night. Pomeroy said, "I think it's the wave of the future," and could "give more people the opportunity to vote. I personally hope we can eliminate the fraud thing."
Morgan asked, "Who all is doing it?"
Garcia said it has been done in Oregon, Colorado and Washington state. She wrote in a memo to the council that many jurisdictions have seen voter turnout increase in vote-by-mail elections. In Colorado, turnout has doubled and tripled. Thurston County, Wash., experienced a 152 percent increase over similar jurisdictions that still had polling place voting.
Garcia said the voter rolls are currently being purged of voters who have died or moved away, so the town will have a "precise and accurate" list of active voters to whom ballots will be mailed.
There will be no early ballots in this election; all ballots will be mailed 33 days prior to the election. Any voter uncomfortable with the process can still vote in person at Town Hall. Or they can bring in their mail-in ballots instead of mailing them.
The council voted 6-1, with Morgan voting no, to authorize the town clerk to conduct the May 2003 special election as a mail-ballot election.
Smith made a motion that the council reject a resolution requiring voters to pay for return postage, in keeping with APS' agreement to pay that postage. His motion passed unanimously.
Garcia noted in her memo that some believe requiring the voter to pay return postage amounts to an unconstitutional "poll tax." But a jurisdiction can avoid this issue by providing a drop-off point for ballots.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6290023&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222076&rfi=6