Vote by Mail

[Anonymous]

Town Council, February 10, 2005



Vote By Mail for the May 3, 2005 Bond Referendum (TC05-003)
Consideration of a request by the Wake County Board of Elections to participate in a pilot Vote By Mail program for the May 3, 2005 Cary Clean Water Bond Referendum.



Speaker: Sue Rowland, Town Clerk
Cherie Poucher, Director, Wake County Board of Elections



From: Sue Rowland, Town Clerk
Prepared by: Sue Rowland, Town Clerk
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer

Approved by: William B. Coleman, Jr., Town Manager
Approved by: Benjamin T. Shivar, Assistant Town Manager



REVIEW

In its continuing effort to encourage and enable an increasing number of citizens to fully and consistently participate in the democratic process, the Wake County Board of Elections has, based on significant research and preparation, requested that the Town of Cary support their desire to pilot a new Vote By Mail election process for the Town’s upcoming Clean Water Bond Referendum on May 3rd. If approved by the Town Council and the North Carolina General Assembly, this would be the first time in North Carolina history that Vote By Mail is used.



Under the proposed Vote By Mail pilot program, traditional polling places would not be used; rather, registered voters would be mailed a ballot, which they would complete and return on or before May 3 to the Wake County Board of Elections via US Postal Mail or by dropping their ballot off at Cary Town Hall or at the Wake County Board of Elections office in Raleigh.



PROCESS

Several steps must be taken if the Town Council wishes to support the Board of Elections’ request to participate in the Vote By Mail pilot program.



The Cary Town Council must send a letter (sample below) to the Wake County Board of Elections expressing its desire to participate in the pilot program. At the same time, a bill must be ratified by the North Carolina General Assembly authorizing the pilot program; Senator Stevens introduced such a bill on February 1, 2005 (below). Once the bill is ratified, the Town Council must adopt a Resolution (below) formally stating its intent to meet the Board of Elections’ request to participate in the Vote By Mail pilot program for the May 3rd election.



Following the completion of these tasks, the Wake County Board of Elections will begin implementing the plans they’ve developed over time to support such an opportunity, including launching an effective effort to educate voters. The Town’s public information for the Clean Water Bonds will also be adjusted to reflect and help support the new pilot program.

[dhyatt]

Now that the Aldi's & bridge issues are out of the way (at least for now), I'm turning my attention to something that I consider much more important, with far reaching implications - IMO. The State Board of Elections would like to use Cary's May 3rd Bond Referendum on a new wastewater treatment plant as a pilot for voting by mail. The town has to ask for it and the legislature has to grant us the 'privilege' (big groan...) before it can be tried. Although I'm generally in favor of anything that improves voter participation, I'm a little concerned about how such a vote would be packaged - politically and physically.

How could it packaged in a way that would get enough attention for people to notice, instead of just tossing it the trash?If it were packaged to get attention, would it be done in a way that attempted to influence the outcome?What process will be in place to assure us that the vast majority of votes cast are legitimate?Wil this approach make the bond referendum more likely to pass, or more liekly to fail?

The answers aren't clear to me, yet I'm sure they are important....

[johnb]

Don,

If they approve I plan on tipping off a Cary News reporter and will be in front of city hall offering to sell my ballot to whoever passes by.....I'll sign it the buyer can fill it out or tell me how to vote....just to demonstrate the potential for fraud in this crazy scheme.

We could get a crowd to do it just to make a mockery of that nonsense and shut it down. If you're too lazy to show up at the polls you shouldn't vote anyway.

John

[washere]

John-

Your comments are exactly why vote by mail is limited to non-candidate elections. The assumption is that no one cares enough to commit ballot fraud.

My concerns mirror Admin's. How can they package this in a way that draws attention to the ballot (ie, so it doesn't get tossed with the junk mail) and yet doesn't influence the vote?

I will say that I was INCREDIBLY impressed by the woman from the BOE who gave the presentation last night. She was certainly one of the most well-spoken individuals I've seen in quite sometime. Did you notice that she wasn't reading from a prepared statement, but instead gave that presentation entirely from memory? Wow.

[johnb]

What makes you think that lessens the chance of fraud?

If the Triangle Aquatics group that is pushing the Aquatics Palace holds gets Cary to ante up for another bond issue what is to stop them from having a "ballot party"? They cater an event and if you bring them the ballot you get in free and a pass to swim in the pool the city would build for them.......why is that less corrupt than buying a ballot for/against a certain politician?

[washere]

John-
I think we here a CP are about the only people on earth that could make a wastewater bond a sexy political issue (or not sexy as the case may be). Pool- sexy. Wastewater...I'm leaning towards no :lol:

I'm trying to picture a ballot party for a wastewater bond...what food would be served? What would the decorations look like? The bond vote is in May, maybe we could combine it with Memorial Day somehow...

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but we're about the only people who could come up with something like that. In fact, you're invading my turf with this ballot party thing :wink: .

I think what happened with the Aquatics Palace is a lot more corrupt than vote by mail for the wastewater bond. That bond got voted down (I can't remember if it was 2 or 3 times), so they gave it a new name, and snuck it in with some off-season vote so that no one would notice.

With the voting percentages given by the BOE rep yesterday, I can't imagine how they could justify putting the bond to a public vote again if gets voted down.

[washere]

Full staff report:
http://www.townofcary.org/agenda/tc05003.htm

Scroll down for more info- looks like Ernie's already written the letter from the council to the BOE expressing interest in participating in the pilot program....wait, the letter is a whopping 2 sentences long :lol: .

[StanN]

CharChar,

You may be to young to decode this..but ask your father or someone from that generation.

What you serve is SOS.

And an interesting bit of trivia..do you know why Sprite and 7UP come in green tinted bottles? Consider what they look like in a clear container.

and JohnB,

You mean you haven't been selling your vote all along in previous elections?

stan

[johnb]

Stan,

Homey B has not sold out.....

I'm still standing up to THE MAN...

**** THE MAN!

[Lurkie]

I am concerned about the integrity of a mail-in election. Without specific details as to the mechanics of it, it is hard to judge.

For example I would assume that the BOE or Town of Cary would mail a ballot to each registered voter in the Town limits. During the normal course of doing business BOE periodically sends out Voter Registration Cards and gets a large number back as "undeliverable as addressed". Assuming that the BOE or the Town of Cary would use the same data base what happens to the large number of ballots that are returned as "undeliverable as addressed" ?

There are many other questions that need answers and a change of this scale should warrant a public hearing.

I agree that Wake County BOE Director Cherie Poucher is an superior public official and deserves a hearing.

Lurkie

[d4vendel]

charchar wrote

I think what happened with the Aquatics Palace is a lot more corrupt than vote by mail for the wastewater bond. That bond got voted down (I can't remember if it was 2 or 3 times), so they gave it a new name, and snuck it in with some off-season vote so that no one would notice.


It is worse than that. "Pool Bonds" were defeated twice before when they were on the ballots as separate bond issues.

For the third and last effort to get the Aquatics Center passed, the Town put them on the ballot as part of the bonds for Parks & Rec and Greenways. To vote against the pool, you had to vote against everything in the “Recreation Bond” package. Not enough citizens were willing to do that, and the Recreation Bonds passed 56% to 44%. When you compare that to the Street Bonds that passed 73% to 27%, I think it is pretty obvious that the pool would not have passed in 2003 if were to have stood on its own again.

As to the vote by mail issue, I have concerns about it and am looking to getting more specific information as to how it would work. It does appear that it is open to fraud, but I am willing to look at the safeguards that would be put in place.

I must admit that my initial reaction agrees with johnb - if you can't be bothered to go to the polls.....

- David

[Brent]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 16, 2005

IT’S A NO GO FOR CARY VOTE BY MAIL

CARY, NC – With the draft bill for a Vote By Mail pilot program being pulled from the North Carolina Senate's State and Local Government Committee agenda this week, Cary voter’s are back to using a traditional election format for the May 3, 2005 Clean Water Bond referendum. Last week, the Cary Town Council voted unanimously to support the Wake County Board of Elections’ request to make North Carolina history by holding the state’s first Vote By Mail election, but this could only occur if the General Assembly ratified the necessary enabling legislation and did so in time for the Board of Elections to make it a reality.

According to Wake County Board of Elections Director Cherie Poucher, pulling the bill at this point will no longer provide sufficient time for the State Board of Elections and the Wake County Board of Elections to implement policies and procedures and to educate Cary voters.

Proponents of Vote By Mail report higher voter turnout, increased convenience to voters, and additional time for voters to fully read and consider ballot issues without the pressure of people waiting in line behind them. Vote By Mail also creates a paper trail, and if Vote By Mail were to have been used in Cary, officials estimate that the cost for the election might have dropped by as much as 30 percent, or up to $25,000.

“While Vote By Mail failed to materialize for our upcoming referendum, the Town of Cary will continue to support the Board of Elections as they work to implement reliable ways to increase voter turnout at reduced cost to taxpayers,” said Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister.

The Town of Cary’s May 3rd Clean Water Bond referendum will ask Cary voters to give the Town permission to use as needed a special type of financing—General Obligation bonds—in the amount of $10 million to preserve additional open space and $110 million to help pay for Cary’s share of new, regional wastewater facilities. General Obligation financing enables governments to borrow money at low interest rates, opening the way for projects to be completed at lower costs than with other sorts of financing. Cary citizens last approved the use of GO bond financing in 2003 to support $160 million in transportation and recreation improvements.

Visit the ’05 Clean Water Bond Referendum Web section at www.townofcary.org for details on the referendum.

###

PRIMARY CONTACTS: Sue Rowland, Town Clerk, (919) 469-4011
Cherie Poucher, Wake County Board of Elections, (919) 856-6240
Bill Coleman, Town Manager, (919) 469-4002
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951

[johnb]

Gee, and I was gonna sell my ballot.....THE MAN stops me again.

[Brent]

Don't worry, John, I am sure this is nothing more than a delay. Stay tuned for future ballot selling opportunities.

P.S. How much would it cost me to get you to vote for Stan? :)

[johnb]

How much liquor is in the State's ABC inventory?

Not that much....probably a photo op in front of city hall with you handing me something, a ham sandwich, and me filling out the ballot per your wishes and my signing it and dropping it in a mail box in front of a N&O reporter.

That is a law that DEMANDS people demonstrate what a farce it is.