• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. vote by mail>

In time for the second Super Tuesday, lessons from the first vote-by-mail state

Kate Titus
June 01, 2020
Oregon vote-by-mail ballot

Nearly every Oregon voter casts a ballot through the mail.

live.staticflickr.com
Titus is executive director of the Oregon office of Common Cause, one of the nation's oldest watchdog and democracy reform advocacy organizations.

This presidential election year, Americans need solutions so they don't have to choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to vote.

On Tuesday morning polls will open for primaries in eight states and Washington, D.C., and election officials are making final preparations to keep voters and election workers safe. Contests in four of those states were postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, which is why the day is being labeled as another Super Tuesday.

And so this is an important moment for a closer look at states that already vote by mail. My home state of Oregon is ranked first: 99 percent of us voted from home in the 2018 midterm election, more than any other state.

To be clear, voting by mail is not every voter's best option, so it's important to provide alternatives and assistance. Oregonians can also pick up a ballot in person. If they're temporarily serving in the military or otherwise living overseas, they get their ballot early enough to return it. Those with visual impairment can use their own assistive computer devices to fill out their ballot. Regardless, when every registered voter is sent a ballot well in advance, with postage-paid return, this greatly expands access.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

As executive director of Common Cause Oregon, I've been watching as many other states have struggled to hold safe and fair elections for citizens during the public health crisis. And I realize how fortunate Oregonians are to live in a state that has been voting almost entirely by mail for two decades.

Last week, Oregon held its presidential, congressional and state primaries on schedule and without the problems we've seen elsewhere during the Covid-19 outbreak. Turnout was among the highest among the 30 states that have already held primaries this year.

[See how election officials in Oregon — and every other state — are preparing for November.]

There are many issues that divide Americans, but when it comes to a public health crisis and our right to vote, we should leave the partisan politics behind.

President Trump himself has voted by mail in three elections since 2017. But somehow he doesn't believe other Americans should be able to — because he is more interested in playing political games than ensuring every eligible American can vote in a safe, fair and accessible way.

Here are the facts:

Vote-by-mail is a paper-based system that is not hackable and can easily be audited to ensure the election results are correct.

It has been tried and tested in states across the country and has proven to be a secure and convenient option for voters to make their voices heard.

It has been endorsed by leading Republican officials from across the country — including Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, Gov. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Secretary of State Kim Wyman of Washington.

Oregon started experimenting with vote-by-mail back in the 1980s. A referendum put on the ballot by citizens in 1998 was approved with 69 percent support, making Oregon the first state to conduct all its elections almost exclusively by mail. Washington, Colorado and Utah have since joined us, and Hawaii is doing so this year.

When I first moved to Oregon 30 years ago, the state was already conducting some elections by mail. At the time I was in my twenties and had voted previously in another state — the "old fashioned" way. I was struck by the difference. No need to take time off from work, track down my polling place or stand in long lines. My ballot came to me.

Now Oregon votes almost entirely by mail, with in-person alternatives for those who need them. Coupled with modern voter registration systems — including online registration and automatic registration for eligible people who interact with the state's department of motor vehicles — our voting system has helped keep Oregon elections secure and efficient, with among the highest participation rates in the country.

As Oregon moved toward full vote-by-mail in 2000, Republicans and Democrats took turns supporting and opposing it — each temporarily convinced it worked in favor of one party and then the other. Ultimately, though, vote-by-mail favors voters, not parties, and all Oregon political parties have come to support it.

Nationwide, 25 percent of us already vote by mail. Just this year, at least 16 states have postponed elections or moved to conduct them by mail to ensure voters can cast ballots from the safety of their homes. Considering the public health crisis, every state has the power to expand some vote from home option, such as mail-in absentee ballots.

Oregon's Ron Wyden, the first senator ever elected in a vote-by-mail contest, and fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are pushing a Senate bill that would require every state to allow all voters to vote by mail — or at polling sites for at least 20 days before Election Day. Those are just two of the common-sense solutions to the challenges of holding elections affected by emergencies.

The April primary in Wisconsin, where thousands were forced to choose between their health and their right to vote, shows why we need state and local officials to take responsible action now to expand voting rights. There is nothing partisan about ensuring full voter turnout.

Expanding vote-by-mail is imperative during this pandemic. We must scale up our existing programs now while we have time to preserve our ability to vote in the November general election.

From Your Site Articles
  • Vote-by-mail group issues guidance for states - The Fulcrum ›
  • Bogus claims cloud real obstacles to expanded mail voting - The ... ›
  • Jimmy Carter, in reversal, embraces vote by mail - The Fulcrum ›
  • Myth-busting the top 10 objections to 'vote at home' systems - The ... ›
  • Redistricting reformers in Oregon depend on the mail - The Fulcrum ›
  • No extension for mail ballots in battleground Michigan - The Fulcrum ›
  • Fact checking claims that ballots can go to wrong address - The Fulcrum ›
  • N.J., Ky expand mail voting access, Ind. does not - The Fulcrum ›
  • USPS gets more blame than it deserves for ballot woes - The Fulcrum ›
  • Nebraska will send mail-in-vote applications to everyone - The Fulcrum ›
  • Trump's claim of widespread fraud in mail voting is false - The Fulcrum ›
  • Six rulings affect voting by mail across the country - The Fulcrum ›
  • 34 states are making voting easier, if only for this fall - The Fulcrum ›
  • Legal fights over voting rules continue in four states - The Fulcrum ›
  • Brookings Institution grades states on vote-by-mail rules - The Fulcrum ›
  • Vote at Home Institute sees state and federal opportunities - The Fulcrum ›
  • Mailed ballots boosted 2020 turnout. Will they work in 2022? - The Fulcrum ›
  • Vote-by-mail states outperform others in primary turnout - The Fulcrum ›
  • D.C. moves closer to voting by mail - The Fulcrum ›
  • As many as 60 million people may vote by mail this year - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Opinion: Oregon's vote-by-mail system a model for virus-proof ... ›
  • Sen. Ron Wyden: Oregon has used vote by mail since electing me in ... ›
  • 'You can't hack paper': How Oregon fights election meddling ›
  • Mail-in voting in Oregon has worked for decades, says Republican ... ›
vote by mail

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Lynn Schmidt
16h

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Samantha Close
16h

It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

Milind Thakar
06 February

Poll: Americans’ legislative wish list for new congress shows frustration with political systems

Benjamin Clary
06 February

Podcast: Why Democrats fail with rural voters

Our Staff
06 February

Your Take: Religious beliefs

Our Staff
03 February
Videos

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Our Staff

Video: What does it mean to be Black?

Our Staff

Video: The dignity index

Our Staff

Video: The Supreme Court and originalism

Our Staff

Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Our Staff

Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Why Democrats fail with rural voters

Our Staff
06 February

Podcast: Anti-racism: The pro-human approach

Our Staff
03 February

Podcast: 2024 Senate: Democrats have a lot of defending to do

Our Staff
02 February

Podcast: Collage: The promise of Black History Month

Our Staff
01 February
Recommended
Does partisanship impact happiness?

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Big Picture
Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Business & Democracy
Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Video: What does it mean to be Black?

Video: What does it mean to be Black?

It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

Government
Poll: Americans’ legislative wish list for new congress shows frustration with political systems

Poll: Americans’ legislative wish list for new congress shows frustration with political systems

Government