Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE. LENGTH: Medium
In an experiment that could reshape the way Americans think about their most fundamental of civic acts, election officials in 36 Oregon counties Wednesday began sending out 1.8 million vote-by-mail ballots for a special election to fill Packwood's seat. It is the first congressional election ever held entirely by mail.
By the time all the votes are tabulated Dec. 5, Oregonians will have selected Democratic and Republican nominees for the Senate without the benefit, or misery, of crowded polling places, annoying campaign workers proffering palm cards and tiresome pundits speculating about the effect of the weather.
Some people say it is the wave of the future. Traditionalists lament the passing of grimy Election Day politicking. Professionals working in the campaigns of candidates eager to replace Packwood say it is a confusing new ball game, something like trying to master the rules of cricket after growing up playing baseball.
Eagerly watched by political junkies from around the country, the vote-by-mail exercise is viewed here as just a logical extension of Oregon's evolving effort to maximize political participation. Some counties in Oregon have been conducting local elections by mail for as long as 14 years, and the state itself has run a couple of statewide ballot initiatives this way.
``It's not the novelty it might be in some other states,'' said Deputy Secretary of State Mike Greenfield. He and other election officials believe that voting by mail increases turnout - it has quadrupled in some county races - and cuts costs, by 30 percent or 40 percent.
by CNB