Secretary of State Ross Miller is asking for information from county clerks and registrars about the possibility of using mail-in ballots for the upcoming special election to fill the vacant Congressional District 2 seat.
“One of our biggest concerns with the special election is trying to reduce the cost to taxpayers,” he said today. “And under new legislation, any county clerk or registrar can convert any precinct into a mail ballot-only precinct with the permission of our office.
“We’ve received several requests from some county clerks who want to at least explore that option and so we simply asked them to prepare some analysis and identify potential issues,” Miller said.
Miller is asking each county to provide his office with itemized cost estimates for printing, postage, additional staff time, and other expenses. He’s also asking local elections officials to address any administrative problems or concerns they might anticipate. County clerks and registrars are being asked to provide the information by the end of next week.
Miller said he remains skeptical that there would be any cost savings by running the special election through a mail-in ballot process, but the information provided by local election officials should help answer the question.
“All-mail elections are really a Western phenomenon,” he said. “In Oregon they use entirely mail ballots. In Washington, I believe it is over 90 percent, and Arizona is very high also. So it has been a trend that we have seen as some of the states move away from electronic voting machines.”
Full Article: Nevada News Bureau » Blog Archive » Secretary Of State Will Evaluate Mail-In Ballots For Special Election.