Civic reminder: You don’t need to pay to register to vote

People who want to register to vote via the Internet should not – repeat Not – use a Web site that promises to sign them up in exchange for $6.95, plus postage and a bunch of info, Secretary of State Sam Reed says.

It’s definitely illegal and may be a gateway to a bigger scam, he warns.

Reed sent out a warning against iwanttovote.com, a site that offers to register people if the wannabe voter sends them $6.95 plus $3 handling and certain information, like name, address, birthday, Social Security number, race and e-mail address.

That should set off warning bells, folks. You don’t write down your Social Security number at the polls, and elections officials don’t keep track of race or e-mail addresses.

Not that this Web site would do this, of course, but someone with your name, address, birthday and Social Security number could steal your identity and pretty well wreck you financially, if that’s what they had in mind. The address for this company is a mobile home park in Oklahoma, so we’re sure their security will protect your valuable information.

The site promises to send you a filled-out voter form to sign and a postage-paid envelope to mail to the appropriate elections office. It will also send you an election calendar, plus reminders of upcoming elections.

Here’s why this is not such a good deal for the money:

Voter registration forms are available for free in dozens of places, including on the Internet. If you can go to this Web site, you can go to the secretary of state’s site, and click on the “register to vote” link. Print out your own registration form, mail it to the address they provide, and pay 39 cents for the stamp. Savings: $9.56, give or take a few pennies for the cost of paper and the envelope you use.

An election calendar can also be found on the Secretary of State’s site. Gratis.

Reminders of upcoming elections are in all the media. You can ignore them, but it’s pretty hard to miss them.

After Washington elections officials contacted the Oklahoma-based parent company of the Web site – and pointed out that they were risking a Class C felony worth five years and a $10,000 fine – the home page posted a disclaimer that Washington voters cannot use the site.

Idaho doesn’t have a similar statute, but a spokeswoman in the Secretary of State’s elections office was puzzled why any Gem State voter would pay to register. Idaho residents can get a registration form online for free, or register on Election Day at the polls.

Reed’s office knows of only one Washington voter who used the site. A King County resident reported sending in her money and filling out her forms, he said. When she went to the polls for a recent election, she wasn’t on the books.

In a bad spot

The Bush administration’s proposal to rejigger some of the money from surplus power generated by the Columbia River dams puts GOP Senate candidate Mike McGavick in a tough spot.

Like the members of the congressional delegation – including Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, whom he wants to replace – McGavick thinks this is a bad idea. “Absolutely the wrong approach,” he declared last weekend.

But it came as he heads out on the speaking circuit for the Republicans’ annual Lincoln Day Dinners and required him to take a shot at the administration.

And when he promises to stand up to the White House, he can hardly be more bipartisan than the delegation is on Bonneville Power Administration issues. In a recent press release, he talked about linking arms with Idaho Sen. Larry Craig. No mention of joining with the Democrats who are vowing to stop the idea, also, like Patty Murray, Ron Wyden and Norm Dicks. And, of course, Cantwell.

Meanwhile, the incumbent has set up an “on-line petition” for people to sign to let the White House know what they think of its BPA proposal. She also joined in a closed-door senatorial grilling of Energy Czar Sam Bodman and joined the bipartisan denunciation that followed.

It would seem the early advantage on this one goes to Cantwell.