Dear Voter,Thank you for sending your input about the issue of All-Mail-Balloting. Your comments have helped me in identifying the potential costs and benefits of such a change in our election process. Many people returned my recent survey on this issue. Supporters of vote by mail have claimed that as many as 80% of King County voters support vote by mail. This was not the result of my survey, which was sent to every member of my district who voted twice in the last four elections- regardless of party. Of those who returned the survey from my district, 45% strongly opposed requiring vote-by-mail, 43% supported all-mail-balloting, and 12% were unsure. I was impressed by the passion with which people expressed their preference to vote at a polling place. Today, All-Mail-Balloting was passed by the King County Council on a vote of 5 to 4. I voted against this measure. I took this position for the following reasons: 1. We should not deprive people of choosing the way they wish to participate in the democratic process. People who strongly desire to exercise their voting franchise at the polls should not be forced to vote in a manner against their will. We should respect the method by which people choose to cast their vote. 2. I am greatly concerned that our current elections management infrastructure faces several challenges. The King County Election Section has 26% of positions vacant. King County is currently without a Supervisor of Elections. This position has been vacant for almost a year. With the resignation of Dean Logan, the current Director of Elections, King County will be missing both of the top election management positions. There are 10 vacant middle management positions. It would be neither prudent nor wise to require a department with such a shortage of necessary employees to make such a major change to our election system. 3. One of the survey respondents pointed out that voting by mail removes the protection of the secret ballot provided by the ballot box at the polls. A controlling spouse could unduly influence the independence of their household’s votes. They could fill out their family’s ballots and then force their family to sign them. Every voter should be able to make an individual choice regarding their vote without fear of retribution. I want to thank those who shared this concern with me for bringing this problem to my attention. 4. The citizens of King County should be able to hold the Director of Elections accountable for the success or failure of our election system. For this reason, I and Council Member Dunn have reintroduced a Charter Amendment to replace the current Director of Elections with a non-partisan Elected Auditor. Voters should be in control of their election system. Council Member Lambert and I feel that major changes, such as requiring vote by mail, should be put to a vote by the people of King County. Unfortunately, our amendment to require such a vote was defeated by a 5 to 4 vote. King County Elections must regain the confidence of the voters of King County before we make major changes to our election system. Only when our Director of Elections is accountable to the voters, can this confidence be restored. As a former Director of Elections, I believe that King County is fully capable of fair, open, and accurate elections. All other counties in Washington have an Elected Auditor of Elections. King County deserves to have one too. I hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with me as we work to improve our election system here in King County. Sincerely, |
