A new model for S.C. elections?

As South Carolina faces the prospect of spending millions of dollars to buy new voting machines, Oregon’s system of vote by mail offers a model that could not only save us money but also eliminate long lines and increase security for election results.

Oregon’s system is used for all elections — federal, state and local, whether primary, general or special — and has been in operation for roughly 25 years. One result is increased voter participation by working parents and senior citizens. The system makes voter fraud virtually impossible, and research has shown that it favors neither party.

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Would online voting be convenient? Probably. A good idea? Maybe not.

Scoppe: The cure for long lines on Election Day? Early voting

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The idea originated with Oregon county election officials and has fully met their goals of substantially saving money and increasing voter participation. Voting by mail has been adopted in whole or part by three Western states, and South Carolina could become a leader in showing it works in the South.

Twenty days before each election, ballots are mailed by county election officials to every voter. Ballots are customized to the address so that they include only the federal, state and local elections for the recipient’s precinct.

Any registered voter who doesn’t receive a ballot by mail or loses one can go to the elections office and get one.

Ballot integrity is ensured by the voter signing the return envelope on the outside and the election officials visually matching that signature to the signature on file with the voter’s registration. The ballot itself is in a separate inside envelope. Once the signatures are matched, the inside envelope is separated from the outside one and the ballot scanned electronically to record it, which ensures a secret ballot.

To ensure the integrity of the election, the system also provides a paper record of every vote, which can be recounted by hand if a recount is needed.

Every household in the state also receives by mail a voter pamphlet, with a concise biography and party identification of each candidate. Voters can refer to it while filling out their ballot, and of course they can vote at their own pace in the privacy of their homes during the three weeks before the election.

Typically, about half of the ballots are received before the final week.

Starting one week before the election, county election officials begin counting ballots, using optical scanners, with results electronically recorded in the statewide voter database. This allows candidates, political parties and the media to monitor turnout as it unfolds.

Early voters aren’t bothered by robo-calls and mailers and knocking on the doors by canvassers, because they are known to have already voted. This allows candidates and the parties to focus on those who haven’t yet voted. No election results are released until the polls close on the day of the election.

This story was originally published January 1, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "A new model for S.C. elections?."