I note, in all your coverage of the absentee/vote by mail issue, you have failed to cover the system used by the state of Oregon. The voters of that state are so happy with the system that the state now pays for the postage of the ballots in both directions.
Additionally, there seems to be no problem with tallying the votes. One rule is that if the ballot is not received by the end of Election Day, then it is the same as not voting. There are lots of community drop boxes that are collected from on voting day, and voters are warned by radio, TV and print media when the mail will no longer be a working tool for ballot return.
Ample time is provided for county clerks to check signatures on early ballot envelopes, allowing missed signatures to be checked up without invalidating the attempted vote. This courtesy is not afforded to Election Day votes: No signature, no vote.
We do miss meeting our neighbors at the polling places, but the voter turnout is better than the old system. It has been in place for more than a few years – seems like “Dirigo” could use some pointers.
Donnell Rogers
Corvallis, Ore.
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