For first time, majority of Californians may vote absentee

[SoCalDem]

For first time, majority of Californians may vote absentee
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15880590.htm
RACHEL KONRAD
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - A majority of California voters may cast absentee ballots in the Nov. 7 election, a milestone that's forcing politicians to rethink campaign strategies and prompting registrars to streamline ballot-counting procedures.

The growth of absentee voting in the most populous state echoes a nationwide trend that's most pronounced in the West. Oregon has used mail-in ballots almost exclusively for a decade. More than half of all votes are absentee in Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.

Marin County, just north of San Francisco, has sent ballots to 54 percent of its nearly 147,000 registered voters. And registrar Elaine Ginnold expects to mail thousands more before the Oct. 31 deadline for requesting absentee ballots. In the June primary, 57 percent of Marin voters were absentee.

"People lead busy lives, and voting by mail is a wonderful benefit," Ginnold said. "Even if we expanded voting at the polls for an entire weekend, I think absentee ballots would be more convenient for a majority of people here."

The rising popularity of mail-in voting in California has politicians - from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to city council members - reaching out to absentees. Instead of spending the bulk of campaign money in a media frenzy the weekend before the election, they synchronize direct mail to arrive at the same time as absentee ballots.

Derek Knell, who ran last year for the Novato Unified School District Board, delivered fliers four weeks before the election. When polls closed, he was down 13 votes. After last-minute absentee ballots were tallied, he won by 104.

"I was delighted but not surprised," he said. "People came up to me the week after the election in the grocery store and said they hadn't mailed the ballot in but delivered it to a polling place at the last minute, so I had a good feeling I might win."

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[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. voting by mail is cool

imho :)

[BlooInBloo]

2. Really. I didn't know that a majority of Californians voted *at all*.