If you’ve followed along with this blog for any length of time, then you know that we are constantly on our soap box attesting to the benefits of voting by mail.

Well, we’re not the only ones that think voting by mail just makes sense.

According to the House of Representatives’ HR 1667 for the Vote by Mail Act of 2007, Vote by Mail programs can help to “assuage voter concerns” about topics like long waiting times, voter fraud, lack of paper trail, and other voter disenfranchising issues.

Our statistics show that use of Vote by Mail has increased since the November 2007 Consolidated Municipal, School, and Special District Election where approximately 62 percent of the vote came from Vote by Mail voters.

The February 2008 Presidential Primary had a Vote by Mail voter turnout of 45 percent. According to Carol Marks, Director of Communications at the San Mateo County Clerk-Assessor-Recorder-Elections Office, this reduction in Vote by Mail voting can be attributed to the greater participation in the presidential election cycle.

“The act of voting at a polling place, interacting with other members of the community, and leaving with an ‘I Voted’ sticker proudly displayed on your shirt, can be a very rewarding experience — particularly for voters who do not vote as regularly. The very nature of the Presidential Primary election compelled many to the polling places because they wanted to really experience the excitement,” said Marks.

That’s not to say that voting by mail doesn’t make voters a part of the election excitement. Vote by Mail voters can track the results just like everyone else–their votes are not counted and released until Election Night! And they can go online to check and make sure that we received their ballot–just for peace of mind.

What voting by mail does is allow voters more flexibility and more opportunity to take part in a process that’s crucial to our democracy. Some people just can’t make it to the polls on Election Day. Things come up. People lead very busy lives, not just here on the Peninsula, but all over California. Voting by Mail allows people to “pick their own Election Day.” Once a voter makes up their mind about the candidates and the issues, why should they wait to vote?

In April’s Special Congressional Election, 73 percent of the vote came from Vote by Mail ballots. With only one contest on the ballot, voters didn’t waste any time making the decision to vote by mail.

In June, the Statewide Direct Primary voter turnout of 28.9 percent was unremarkable, but the number of Vote by Mail voters was 64.5 percent showing that those committed to participating preferred to cast their ballots by mail. This was consistent on a statewide basis.

Marks expects the percentage of Vote by Mail voters in November to mirror the February election. While our most fervent hope is that all voter decisions to take part in the voting process, we encourage you to consider voting by mail. It’ll save you time and gas and, you can even do it in your pajamas if you want to!

Voting by mail is an option that protects citizens’ rights to participate in an act that is fundamental to our society. Not convinced?   See Measure N’s results to see how one vote was the difference in that June election.