Vote-by-mail
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Vote-by-mail is a method of voting where a ballot is mailed to the home of a registered voter, the voter fills it out and returns it via postal mail. This process eliminates the requirements to staff and run a polling center during an election, and can result in considerable cost savings to taxpayers.
Ballots are sent out, usually, three weeks before the election date, after a Voter's Pamphlet has been distributed. To vote by mail, an individual marks the ballot for their chioce of the candidates (or writes in their name), places the ballot in a secrecy envelope, seals it, places it in the provided mailing envelope, seals it and signs and dates the back of the mailing envelope. This envelope is then either stamped and mailed at any mailbox, or dropped off (postage free) at a local ballot collection center.
There is a cut off date for mailing ballots and it is determined by the local voting jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions, postmarks do not count, and ballots must be received by a certain time on election day. In other jurisdictions, a ballot must have a postmark on or before the day of the election and be received prior to the date of certification. Many vote-by-mail jurisdictions enlist the help of volunteers to take ballots in walk up "Drop off Booths" or drive-up "Quick Drop" locations. The Help America Vote Act requires some polling options, often at central election headquarters, with machines designed for voting by those disabled who cannot vote a normal ballot.
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Around the world
United States
First State with vote-by-mail
Image:Oregon special election ballot.jpg In the United States of America, the first state to do this was Oregon. In 1998, Oregonians passed an intiative requiring that all elections be conducted by mail. Voters may also drop their ballots off at a county designated official drop site.
It has been subject to some controversy. Some conservatives fear that more low-income working people will vote, diluting conservative influence. Some Americans oppose changing the tradition of going to a polling place to vote, but many appreciate the ability to vote at a time and place more convenient for them. Some people fear vote fraud, but most claims of fraud are alleged for partisan reasons and very few actual cases have been found. Some question how much voter turnout is incresed in using vote-by-mail but certainly many more people have the opportunity to vote and others point out that when they can vote, more people will vote.
Other states with vote by mail
Washington State - Currently, thirty-three out of the state's thirty-nine counties are entirely vote-by-mail. In addition, King County, the state's largest, plans to change in 2007 and Snohomish County, the state's third-largest, will switch after elections in May 2006. In the remaining four counties that still use polling places, more than half of the voters are already registered as permanent absentee voters.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom they are called Postal votes. There have been allegations of electoral fraud as the postal vote does not need to be sent to the voter's address but can be sent anywhere of their choosing.