Vote-by-mail is safe and secure. SLO County supervisors should ignore GOP lies and approve it

It’s one of the biggest decisions this San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will ever make.

On Tuesday, it can authorize sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter — a system that resulted an 88% turnout in November 2020, which was the largest in recent county history.

Or, the board can give in to a vocal minority of extreme conservatives in SLO County who are seeking to stick with in-person voting at neighborhood precincts, under the pretext that the vote-by-mail system is vulnerable to fraud.

They’re making wild, unsubstantiated claims about the vulnerability of voting machines used by the county, and demanding another audit — even though the machines have undergone multiple tests for accuracy.

And that’s not all.

According to recent post on the SLO County Republican Party Facebook page, they also want voter ID “at a minimum.” They’re also asking to do away with early voting and to limit mail-in voting to people with medical hardships.

This an absurd ploy aimed at reducing turnout by attacking the integrity of our local voting system. It is voter suppression, pure and simple.

What’s more, some of these asks aren’t legally possible — for example, the state sets the rule on voter IDs and on who can get a mail-in ballot.

This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to vilify the Elections Office, and it’s time county officials — including all five supervisors — made it clear that they have confidence in the system and in County Clerk/Recorder Tommy Gong.

Mail-in ballots and COVID

The COVID pandemic forced some changes — every California county is required to send a mail-in ballot to every voter through the end of this year — but beginning in 2022, counties can revert to the old system.

That makes no sense, it’s not practical, and it’s not what voters want.

In a recent survey conducted by the county Elections Office, 82% of respondents said they prefer to vote by mail, and only 18% favored voting in person.

So why are we clinging to an obsolete system?

After all, the new system would still provide voters the opportunity for face-to-face contact with elections staff; County Elections is proposing a hybrid model that would include around 20 regional voting centers where people could vote in person.

Gong also suggests augmenting vote centers by purchasing three “vote-mobiles” — trailers that could travel to rural areas like Santa Margarita, Shandon and San Miguel — at a cost of $250,000.

There would be other one-time expenses as well, including purchase of permanent, high-volume drop boxes and high-volume envelope openers. The bill totals $470,000, but that amount would be fully funded by grants as long as purchases are made by June 30. After that date, the county would be responsible for paying 25%.

Overall, it would cost more to run a hybrid election than a precinct election — in part because voting centers are open for days, rather than just Election Day — but this isn’t about saving money. It’s about enfranchising voters.

Will the board go along with it?

This hybrid system is a logical next step for San Luis Obispo County, where more than 80% of voters already are signed up as permanent vote-by-mail voters, which means they automatically receive a mail-in ballot for every election.

Plus, the county may soon not have a choice; there’s a bill in the state Legislature — AB-37 — that would require every county to send a mail-in ballot to every registered voter for every election.

It might seem like a no-brainer for the county to go along with the new hybrid system, given that California appears to already be leaning in that direction.

But the conservative majority on the county Board of Supervisors — Debbie Arnold, Lynn Compton and John Peschong — often resists following the lead of a state government controlled by Democrats.

They also have no problem with ignoring the wishes of liberal constituents.

A prime example: The board recently voted 3-2 to study what it would cost to break away from the Integrated Waste Management Authority — a countywide agency in charge of complying with a vast array of federal and state waste disposal and recycling rules.

The reason to explore what could be an expensive proposition?

The three supervisors believed the IWMA board of directors exceeded its authority when it voted to move ahead with a ban on polystyrene, even though there was widespread public support for the ban.

Now we see strong public support for a system of voting that has been proven to boost turnout; that’s obvious from the results of the county’s voter survey.

But the opposition will stop at nothing — including undermining the integrity of the local elections office — as part of a wider effort to suppress the vote.

It’s time for the three conservatives on the Board of Supervisors to put partisanship aside and do the right thing.

First, make it crystal clear that you believe the local elections office runs free and fair elections.

Next, give the go-ahead to move into the future by authorizing a hybrid voting model that combines the best of both systems: mail-in ballots sent to all registered voters, who would still have the option of voting in-person at vote centers.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 6:30 AM.