Oregon Panel Urges Mail Ballots

Fri., Sept. 20, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

Oregon should jettison traditional polling place elections and use mail ballots in all future statewide elections, an advisory panel recommended Thursday.

Members of the Vote-by-Mail Citizen Commission said they based their recommendation on the successful use of vote-by-mail in the special U.S. Senate elections in December and January.

The panel said that in those elections, there were no reported cases of fraud and that most people viewed mail ballots as a convenience.

“We found that a strong majority of Oregonians prefer voting by mail,” said Jean Tate of Eugene, chairwoman of the panel. “In weighing the pros and cons over an eight-month period, our commission came down firmly on the side of expanding use of the mail ballot.”

Secretary of State Phil Keisling, a strong backer of vote-by-mail, said he would use the commission’s recommendation to help him push for a permanent vote-by-mail system in the next session of the Legislature.

Several key Republican lawmakers who last year supported a move to conduct all elections by mail ballot now say they are having second thoughts.

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