County elections chief lobbies for all-mail voting County elections chief lobbies for all-mail voting (May 18, 2005)

By Bay City News Service

On the heels of the Redwood City School District's all-mail special election, San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum is pushing for the county to conduct all elections by mail.

The chief arguments for the change: it will increase voter participation and reduce costs.

Under the provisions of a bill under consideration in Sacramento, seven counties, including San Mateo, could convert to all-mail elections by 2006.

Mr. Slocum is spearheading an effort to get Assembly Bill 867 signed into the law. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, has passed through the Assembly Elections and Reapportionment Committee.

According to Mr. Slocum, the cost savings in the seven pilot counties could reach as high as $10 million to $13 million. San Mateo County could save $5 million over a four-year election cycle.

The county would also save about $7 million by not having to buy new voting technology, he said.

"Voting by mail is a paradigm that we should try -- and that is what AB 867 does," said Rich Gordon, president of the county Board of Supervisors. "People are busy. If this initiative causes more people to practice democracy -- then I am for it."

The bill would allow Calaveras, Mendocino, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sierra and Ventura counties to conduct all-mail elections through the year 2011 as a demonstration project.

"Convenience is a big deal with voters," Mr. Slocum said in a prepared statement, noting that in 2004, 42 percent of voters in San Mateo County voted by mail.

In 1992, Mr. Slocum tried to get all-mail election legislation passed. The bill, authored by then-state Sen. Quentin Kopp, made it through the Assembly and the Senate but was vetoed by the governor.

However, AB 867 has a "strong chance of passing," according to Mr. Slocum. The bill has support from the California League of Women Voters, the California Association of Election Officials and Clerks, Common Cause, the boards of supervisors in the seven counties and a growing number of California cities.

On May 3, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to support the bill.

Supervisor Mark Church stated: "Voting by mail is safe and is a logical extension of the growth of absentee voting. It allows people to vote at home any time during the 29 days preceding an election when they're ready and it's convenient for them."

Mr. Slocum points to the success of Oregon's voting system, which converted to all-mail elections in November 1998. The system had been used frequently in local elections before the state converted to balloting by mail.

"It has increased turnout and with the proper controls in place, it is more secure than a polling place and helps to ensure against voter fraud," Mr. Slocum said.

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