Editorial: Please vote

We know that, but I think it’s easy to take for granted something that rolls around twice a year like clockwork.

On May 19, Oregon voters will get the chance to weigh in. And I say this as someone who has primarily voted by mail since age 18 (I think I got to vote in person once after diligently filling out my absentee ballots in college): the process could not be easier.

I get to sit at the kitchen counter with my voter pamphlet and a favorite pen (and Columbia Gorge News’ candidate Q&As when applicable). If it’s a really good day, I also have a cat and a cup of coffee somewhere in the vicinity. And then I like to drive to the county offices to put it into the ballot box (or hand it to my husband, who works in downtown Hood River). But you can also drop it in the mail — doing so doesn’t even require a stamp.

I am a fan.

Vote by mail has been in the news a lot lately, and the headlines, frankly, confuse and irritate me. All 50 states allow some sort of mail in voting — that’s not even breaking news. Absentee ballots were a thing way before states began adopting mail-in voting laws. Oregon became the first state to go all vote by mail in 2000, with Washington following in 2011 and Colorado in 2013. (Well, we are Trailblazers.) (See what I did there?)

This narrative that voter fraud is commonplace is ridiculous. A review of the vote by mail system by our state’s Legislative Fiscal Office found that, from 2000-2019, there were 38 criminal convictions for voters’ fraud … out of approximately 61 million ballots cast. Oregon law requires random sampling for all elections and preforms post-election reviews for federal and statewide contests. (All of this info is easily found on the secretary of state’s website, sos.oregon.gov — and, incidentally, you can also check to make sure your ballot was received, register to vote or update your registration information.)

Other facts to keep in mind:

Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote. By law. Already enforced.

When you register to vote, you verify your eligibility. Can’t verify? Can’t vote.

Making everyone — including me, and I cast my first mail-in ballot in 1992 — appear in person at an election office with “qualifying” documents means the end of online registration and registration drives.

What documents qualify, you ask? Let me first tell you what doesn’t: a driver’s license, REAL ID, military ID, or tribal ID (explain that one to me). You will need a valid passport, a certified birth certificate paired with a photo ID, a naturalization certificate, or a “Consular Report of Birth Abroad.” If your name doesn’t match across documents — and mine don’t, since I changed my last name when I got married 30 years ago — then you have to provide even more paperwork.

So no, we’re not voting for president in this election, but we’re voting for something just as important — who will represent and fight for us. Don’t tell me that local offices have no influence. (Did you see the story I wrote about the Hood River City Council’s temporary moratorium on data centers?) And don’t tell me that it’s too hard or too time-consuming, either. Grab your pen (and maybe your cat), sit down and fill out that ballot. There’s still time before the May 19 deadline.

I will not tell you how to vote in this election, but I am asking you to vote. By mail, while you still can. 

Maybe that’s its own kind of election result.