Move to mail-in

The Butte County Elections Office is sending out some 50,000 absentee ballots this election season, to 43.5 percent of registered voters. Absentee ballots are no longer just for absentees; they’re mostly for people who prefer to vote from home.

Statewide, 40 percent of voters receive absentee ballots. In Washington state, the figure is 90 percent. And in Oregon, which conducts voting by mail, it’s 100 percent—has been for eight years, with no hitches and no evidence of fraud.

California allows voters to become “permanent absentees,” which is why the number of absentee voters keeps increasing here. Perhaps it’s time for some truth in labeling: These aren’t absentee ballots, they’re mail-in ballots. Mail-in has advantages over trooping to the polls. It is less expensive and more convenient.

Agreed, some people like trooping to the polls. It’s a familiar and meaningful rite of democracy. In Oregon, people can still go to drop-in centers to hand in their ballots. But there are no voting machines and no polls.

Mail-in is clearly the wave of the future. Why not sooner rather than later?

By the way, Monday (Oct. 23) is the last day to register to vote. Exercise your right.