Next week, Oregon will hold its eighth all-mail statewide special election since 1993. Last year, Oregonians approved an initiative to also conduct regular elections by mail, starting with next year's primary. In Washington, Ferry County will hold an all-mail election next week. With fewer than two voters per square mile, that rural county eliminated polling booths altogether, said Dianna Galvan, Ferry County elections administrator. Voting from the comfort of home means better turnout and more informed voters, McIntosh said.
Tight races can require two and or three recounts, delaying the final results even longer.
It is inevitable, McIntosh said, that officials will be unable to figure out who won the mid-September primary in time to print up ballots for the early November general election. Candidates battling for the nomination are sometimes left in limbo while absentee ballots are counted and recounted in tight primaries. That can give the candidate from the opposing party as much as a three-week head start, McIntosh said. And the eventually elected officials end up in a jam when they assemble their office staff, said David Olson, a University of Washington political science professor and member of a state task force looking into these issues. It's not an earth-shaking impact . . .