Executive calls for all-mail voting

Dec. 20, 2005

Executive calls for all-mail voting

King County Executive Ron Sims today announced he is proposing to change King County elections to an all-mail ballot system. Sims directed Records, Elections and Licensing Services Director Dean Logan to prepare a comprehensive plan and a proposed timeframe for establishing a vote-by-mail balloting process for the county's 1.2 million registered voters by the end of January 2006.

"While numerous outside reviews of our elections operation have recognized and praised the many improvements in King County elections, they also point out the complexity and duplicate effort in the current dual-voting system where the vast majority of voters have chosen to cast absentee ballots," Sims said. "An all-mail system is an important next step to reducing the challenges to running trouble-free elections and to build on the improvements and achievements of these last two years."

Sims said his goal is to adopt a system that fosters the highest level of public trust and confidence while increasing voter participation, improving access to voting, and simplifying the administration of elections. Options for in-person voting will be included in the report. The plan will include voter education and outreach plans to make sure the public is well versed on how the vote-by-mail system works. New technology also will allow for tracking of ballots in the mail stream and the ability for voters to confirm that their votes were received and tabulated.

All but seven of Washington's 39 counties moved to all-mail voting systems in 2005 after the State Legislature authorized all-mail balloting as a local option. At least three additional counties – including Snohomish and Spokane counties – are moving in that direction in 2006. In King County, more that 55% of registered voters are already registered as permanent absentee ballot voters and more than 70% of voter turnout in recent elections has been through ballots cast by mail.

Sims said consolidation of election operations into one building instead of scattered among four buildings is essential to an all-mail ballot system. He said additional state legislative changes that are needed include an earlier primary date to provide more time between the primary and general elections, and authorization to begin processing returned ballots as soon as they are received.

King County will be the largest government in the nation to conduct all elections by mail once the change is made. Currently, the county is second only to Los Angeles County, California in the number of ballots processed through the mail. More than half a million votes in the November 2005 General Election were cast by mail. The State of Oregon uses an all-mail voting system, with ballots mailed by individual counties; none are as large as King County.

"Vote-by-mail is the right direction for our electorate," said Sims. "It streamlines the elections process, allows our staff to focus on a single system for serving voters, and it increases voter turnout."

Sims cautioned that it is important to properly prepare for further changes to the elections process.

"This is not a process we want to rush. We need a solid implementation plan that addresses the concerns of voters and election stakeholders," Sims said. "I want to be out in front on this now so the state legislature, the county council, and the elections office have adequate time to respond in a manner that ensures a successful transition to vote-by-mail," Sims said.

"Moving to an all vote-by-mail system is another important reform that will improve the precision of our elections system," said King County Councilmember Julia Patterson, who along with Councilmember Bob Ferguson, proposed a package of election reforms earlier this year. "King County handles more ballots than any other county in the state and we must have a seamless voting system that minimizes the chance for human error. Nearly 30 counties across the state have moved to an all vote-by-mail system and it is time King County recognize the clear preference of our voters and follow suit."

"It's time to follow Oregon's example," said King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson, who advocated for vote-by-mail shortly after taking office in 2004. "Adopting one voting system for King County will increase voter turnout, save taxpayer dollars, restore the integrity of the voting process, and help make our elections department more efficient."

The comprehensive plan for adopting all mail elections – including a recommended timeline and any proposals for legislative changes, will be completed by the end of January, 2006.

Additional information:

Read what independent reviews say about all-mail voting (PDF, 45K)
In Our View - Trend-Setters, from the Vancouver Columbian.