To the mailbox, voters

Washington voters' preference to vote by mail is sending polling places to a political graveyard.

Kitsap County Commissioners voted Monday to do away with polling places in favor of a vote-by-mail system, adding to the increasing number of counties that have shuttered polling places.

Yakima County Commissioners approved a vote-by-mail system Tuesday. Thirteen of Washington's 39 counties will switch to the system for the next election, and 12 counties already conduct mail elections.

Voter habits and costs drove Kitsap's decision. Since 2002, at least 86 percent of the turnout voted by mail. In the last election, about 70 percent of voters cast ballots by mail statewide.

Kitsap was also faced with spending $732,000 for electronic voting equipment for the disabled, required by federal law. The one system will nearly halve the number of ballots the county produces, and save on training and staffing, said Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn.

There is also evidence that mail voting increases participation. In Oregon, where there is no other option but to vote by mail, participation increased from 35 percent in the 1998 primary to 47 percent in the 2002 primary.

Mail voters also see the ballot without having to go to town hall for a copy. This allows voters time to familiarize themselves with an issue or candidate before being confronted by vague names or confusing initiatives in the booth on Election Day.

Last year's gubernatorial election made it embarrassingly obvious that the way we vote needs to be streamlined. The mushrooming popularity of absentee voting has made elections a cumbersome, two-tier process. It only makes sense to embrace the method endorsed by voters.