The Oregon way: by mail

We should vote

There is a far more efficient and less expensive way to process our voting/elections. Just ask the people of Oregon.

But first, let’s review the expensive Pennsylvania way. In the past few months, there have been numerous articles in the Post-Gazette about replacing our voting machines for millions of dollars. The federal government has set aside $380 million to upgrade voting machines, which is much less than needed. That means the state and counties must make up the difference.

When I started voting — quite a while ago — Allegheny County had big old iron mechanical machines. Then about 20 years ago, we upgraded to electronic machines at a cost of millions of dollars. Now, those machines are no longer adequate because they leave no paper record. There are additional millions spent on every election.

First, the machines must be transported from a storage location to each voting district and then transported back to storage after the election. Then the county’s 4,600 machines have to be recalibrated. Each voting district is staffed with six people. The cost is $635 for the primary and again for the general election. Because Allegheny County has about 1,000 districts, that is $1.3 million per year. Another cost, which I don’t know, is the rental for the election space at churches, VFWs, firehalls, etc.

So, the way we get out of spending millions and millions is do what the folks in Oregon do. In 1998, voters approved voting by mail — no machines. Therefore, no chance of internet hacking and 100 percent paper backup in the voters’ own handwriting. Voters receive their ballots via U.S. mail 14 to 18 days before the election. So they have plenty of time to complete their ballots — in the comfort of their homes. They don’t have to go to a voting district in the snow, rain or cold or stand in line on a busy election day.

They also have time to research any information they deem necessary. The ballots are returned via U.S. mail or drop-off voting boxes. The ballots must be in the elections office by 8 p.m. on Election Day or the vote doesn’t count. No postmark situations. BERT LINDSTROM Scott