OPINION/PUZZLES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
OUR VIEW
America should imitate Oregon on voting by mail
orma Paulus would
be proud. And she
would be amazed.
As secretary of state from
1977 until 1985, Paulus was
the prime mover of Ore-
gon’s voting by mail. Other
states have been slow to
follow Oregon’s lead. But
— in the way that sudden
events provoke unexpected
change — the coronavi-
rus makes voting by mail a
timely solution.
Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden and U.S. Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, of Minnesota,
have authored legislation to
make the mail ballot more
prevalent.
For Wyden, this has been
a long slog. He fi rst intro-
duced this legislation in
2002. “I’ve never had the
interest that we have now,”
he said during a March
23 interview. “During the
most recent slate of presi-
dential primary elections,
three states opted to post-
pone voting because of the
coronavirus.”
In this climate, Wyden
argues that the pandemic
offers a stark choice.
“Either people are not
going to be able to vote or
they vote by mail. If those
N
HH fi le photo
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is a vocal champion of Oregon’s vote-by-mail system, which he
would like to see expanded to the entire country.
are the two choices for
America this fall, that is not
a close call.”
Like the bottle bill, pub-
lic beaches and statewide
land use planning, voting
by mail is one of Oregon’s
emblematic, pioneering
achievements. Initially, it
was a Republican proposal,
opposed by labor unions
that infl uenced the Demo-
cratic Party. Then it became
a Democratic Party cause,
led by Secretary of State
Phil Keisling, who served
in the 1990s.
Under Paulus, coun-
ties were allowed to use
the mail ballot for nonpri-
mary or nongeneral elec-
tions. When counties took
advantage of the new mode
of voting, turnout increased
by factors of three and fi ve,
Keisling said.
In 1995, the Oregon
Legislature enacted Keis-
ling’s bill to allow vot-
ing by mail, but Gov.
John Kitzhaber vetoed the
legislation.
Months later, a surprise
allowed Keisling to make
history. When Bob Pack-
wood resigned from the
U.S. Senate in 1995, county
clerks across Oregon urged
Keisling to conduct the sud-
den, special Senate election
by mail ballot. He could do
that, because existing stat-
ute prohibited mail bal-
lots only in the primary and
general elections.
The special primary in
1995 and the general elec-
tion in early 1996 became
the fi rst federal elections in
America to be conducted by
mail. Turnout was high —
58% in the special primary
and 66% in the general.
Wyden became Oregon’s
new U.S. senator.
In 1998, Oregon vot-
ers by a margin of 2-to-1
approved a ballot measure
mandating voting by mail
in all Oregon elections.
Keisling has contin-
ued his advocacy within
the National Vote At Home
Institute, of which he is
founder and a board mem-
ber. His 2016 article in the
Washington Monthly (“Vote
From Home, Save Your
Country”) is an extensive
history of the national dis-
cussion of mail balloting.
In the most recent devel-
opment, Wyden’s big-
gest opponent is the vot-
ing machine lobby. Of
digital voting, the Oregon
Democrat says: “A voting
machine with remote access
software is the equiva-
lent of putting an Ameri-
can ballot box in the Krem-
lin.” He disparages the
voting machine lobby, say-
ing: “They lied to me, to
The New York Times. They
stonewalled Congress.”
Wyden measures his
progress by how many
Republican senators who
now say they are thinking
about his proposal.
The emergency pack-
age in Congress in response
to the coronavirus includes
$400 million to help states
with elections, but Wyden
and Klobuchar believe
more help is needed.
“In times of crisis, the
American people cannot be
forced to choose between
their health and exercis-
ing their right to vote,” the
senators said in a state-
ment. “While this funding
is a step in the right direc-
tion, we must enact election
reforms across the coun-
try as well as secure more
resources to guarantee safe
and secure elections. We
will continue to fi ght to
pass the Natural Disaster
and Emergency Ballot Act
of 2020 to ensure every eli-
gible American can safely
and lawfully cast their
ballot.”
An adverse moment in
history reinforces the case
that voting by mail makes
abundant sense.
It’s time for America to
imitate Oregon.
This editorial refl ects the
opinion of EO Media Group
leadership.
COLUMN
We’re not going anywhere
couple of weeks ago at elevated risk of exposure
I wrote a column
to COVID-19. I also worry
titled “Things to be
about friends and family
grateful for in the age
members who have
of COVID-19.”
lost their jobs.
I have to admit, in
That list includes
the last week it has
several longtime
been more of a strug-
co-workers who
gle to feel grateful.
were laid off last
Like most Ameri-
week, as EO Media
cans (or, at least, the Jade
Group had to cut 47
extroverts among us) McDowell
positions across a
I have grieved the
dozen newspapers to
NEWS EDITOR
loss of normal activ-
make up for the sud-
ities I used to enjoy,
den plunge in adver-
from game nights with
tising revenue we have
friends to seeing a movie
experienced.
at the theater. I don’t know
The cuts included multi-
the next time I’ll be able to
ple positions in our Herm-
visit my parents or go on a
iston offi ce, and I’m sick
date or attend church.
over losing every one of
If that were all that were them.
wrong with the world right
Despite the blow this has
now I’d tell myself I had
been, the Hermiston Herald
some new shows and new
and East Oregonian will
books I wanted to catch
continue to print.
up on anyway. But I worry
These institutions, more
for my friends and family
than a century old, have
who work in the health care withstood catastrophes of
industry and are therefore
all varieties, from the infl u-
A
CRYPTOQUIP
enza of 1918 to the Great
Depression to wars and nat-
ural disasters. Once again,
we are doing what we
need to do to remain via-
ble through these tests, and
I am excited about some of
the new things we are still
discussing about bringing
to Hermiston readers in the
near future.
We’re not abandoning
you. I’m not abandoning
you. Like everyone in quar-
antine ... we’re not going
anywhere.
We live in turbulent
times, but our community
is still here, and still pulling
together.
People are sewing masks
for health care workers, dis-
tributing free food, going
to the store for their elderly
neighbors and sharing toi-
let paper. It’s normal to feel
sad and worried and it’s
also OK to look for the sil-
ver linings.
Hang in there, everyone.
Out for a stroll
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A turkey wanders around the parking lot of Campus Life, across the street from Hermiston
High School, on Monday afternoon. The large, inquisitive bird made her way around town
Monday, including visits to shops downtown and to peer in the windows of the police
station.
SUPER CROSSWORD: THE THIN, THE FLAT, THE ROUND
SUDOKU
DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK
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