PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County’s traditional voter polling places could become a thing of the past if county leaders and residents embrace the concept of all-mail balloting.
The county commissioners on Monday gave the nod for setting a public hearing, possibly in mid-May, on the proposal to have all voting by mail, as has been done in Clallam County since 2002.
The Jefferson commissioners asked County Auditor Donna Eldridge to come up with a proposal and report back to them next week, after Eldridge explained how voting by mail would save dollars and simplify the system.
Eldridge, asking the commissioners for guidance, said 66 percent of Jefferson County voters cast their ballots by mail last year.
“We could right now all vote by mail, but that’s splitting precincts,” Eldridge told the commissioners.
Under state law, if there are fewer than 200 registered voters in a precinct, then a precinct can go all-mail.
In addition to Clallam, four counties vote by mail: Ferry, Okanogan, Pend Oreille and Skamania.
Mason, Whatcom, Lewis, Skagit and Yakima counties are in the process of going to an all-mail voting system.
$6,000 cost savings
Eldridge said Jefferson County stood to save $6,000 if it had all-mail balloting in the last election.
“If you want to save money, vote by mail is the way to go,” said Eldridge.
She said some believe the all-mail system if “fraught with fraud,” and she aired concerns that once a ballot leaves her office, “that’s when it leaves control of our office.”
However, Eldridge gave a “100 percent guarantee” that extra ballots will not be found at her office “because of the processes we have in place.”