Gordon Forgey

Tuesday was election day.

You might have missed it.

Election day in Washington is not what it used to be.

Not so long ago, voters went to their precinct polling places.

There they ran through a gauntlet of precinct workers. Then it was off to the voting booth. A variety of contraptions was used, but invariably they offered absolute privacy. The last job was to personally put the marked ballot in a locked box. “I Voted” stickers were available.

The precinct workers would then make sure the executed ballots, still in locked boxes, safely reached the courthouse and were handed over to the correct election officials. The count would begin.

From the voters to the precinct workers, there was a sense of pride and satisfaction. A vital civic duty was performed. A feeling of community permeated the polling places.

It is much different now. In Washington, ballots are received in the mail weeks in advance, marked in one’s home and handed over to the post office to arrive at some inner sanctum to be tallied.

The purported reason for the change to vote-by-mail was the promise of improved voter turnout. Yet, in 2011, the Seattle Times reported that vote-by-mail has failed to increase voter participation. Most others have come to the same conclusion, although some local, special elections may benefit from the process. In general elections, however, it is a different story: Participation reportedly falls.

Seemingly, it is a loss of direct involvement in the electoral process. The ballots are processed before deadline. The last ballots received are not even counted for days.

Traditionally, American elections do not see high voter turnout. Despite all the claims in selling the new method, voter participation has not improved.

It doesn’t give the sense of participation in our democracy and is one more process that separates the government from the people.`

Gordon Forgey

Publisher