Republicans in the House and Senate continue to try to place restrictions on a constitutional amendment that would allow early voting in the 2010 statewide elections.
The amendment is just one of several controversial measures before the General Assembly stemming from problems in last year?s election: lack of a voter-verified paper record on electronic voting machines, difficulty recruiting and training election judges, lack of absentee ballots and allegations of campaign fraud on Election Day.
Two Baltimore City Democrats, Sen. Lisa Gladden and Del. Jill Carter, have thrown another idea into the mix, one they think might cure a lot of the current difficulties. They?re proposing a task force to look at implementing the election system in Oregon, where everyone votes by mail on paper ballots.
“This is the cheapest and most basic way to give democracy to the people,” Gladden said. And it would help to cure some of the dismal turnout in elections.
Under the Oregon system, two weeks before an election every registered voter is sent a paper ballot, which they can return by mail or in person. The returned ballots, signed by the voter, are then counted by optical scanners in local election offices.
Gladden said the Oregon eliminates many issues raised in the last election, including the need to vote at convenient times and places. There is no need to close schools or find other polling places, no need for thousands of volunteer election judges, no need for campaign poll workers, and it provides a built in paper trail.
But to some of the opponents of early voting, there are problems with the Oregon system as well. Sen. George Della, D-Baltimore, one of the few Democrats opposing early voting measures, is concerned about “tombstone voting,” where ballots could be mailed to dead people. He prefers to see voters showing up at the polls.
One study of the Oregon system said the checking of signatures on the outside of the ballot eliminates most potential for fraud.
“The numbers on it are interesting,” said Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley, and “it lessens the affect of a last minute campaign of dirty politics.”
“I?m not sure I want unrequested ballots going out in the mail,” said Sen. Andrew Harris, R-Baltimore County.
