The municipal elections held in Salt Lake County this week resulted in a clear and indisputable victory for the practice of allowing voters to cast their ballots by mail. All of the cities that allowed mail-in voting saw record levels of turnout, which speaks loudly in favor of continuing and expanding the practice.
The turnout numbers are impressive given the fact that summertime primary races traditionally fail to enthuse the electorate. In Salt Lake City, turnout was at least 39 percent, which is more than double the average for odd-year primary voting in August. Salt Lake County, where 14 of 16 municipalities allowed mail-in voting, witnessed a 32 percent turnout. In perspective, in the 2014 general election, turnout was just below 30 percent statewide.
The mail-in system was approved this year as something of an experiment and won’t be repeated unless the Salt Lake County Council votes to approve it for future elections after November’s general elections. Based on this month’s experience, the council would be remiss in failing to make mail-in voting a permanent option. Other jurisdictions should be encouraged to follow suit.
We have suffered from dismal rates of turnout in recent decades, which have been blamed on a general apathy or a sentiment that individual votes don’t matter. The mail-in numbers show a significant factor that turnout is simple convenience. They demonstrate that twice as many people will vote if they can do so on their own schedule in their own homes. The design of the ballots made it easy to cast a vote and leave it for the Postal Service, and people were given a period of weeks to make their choices.
If there are any real downsides to the practice, they are few. Candidates may complain that too many voters may make up their minds before all of the issues are vetted in debates and through campaign advertising. Should that be true, it should prompt a change in the way candidates wage a campaign instead of hoping that results may be swayed by some last-minute developments.
There were concerns voiced that candidates may have solicited ballots during campaign events or in their canvassing efforts, which could be viewed as an exertion of unfair influence. As it becomes institutionalized, there will be a need for more clarity and rule making on the exact procedures, but such rules should be relatively easy to design and to enforce.
What’s more, voting by mail carries an added value of reducing costs by cutting back on the necessary number of live Election Day voting places. Salt Lake County estimates the mail-in program resulted in savings of about $63,000 for the primary balloting alone.
The clear success of the program argues forcefully for its continuation. Increasing the number of people who participate in the electoral process is more important than retaining traditions on how, where and when they cast their ballots.