Is the traditional voting procedure hindering turnout?
When 23 percent of voters in town came out for the Dec. 8 state special election primary, Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey said she was pleased with the turnout, especially in light of the 3.4 percent of voters who cast ballots at the April town election. “That was pretty dismal,” Mulvey said. “Frankly, I’d love to see voter turnout increase. You can better gauge voter sentiment — the bigger the turnout, the more indicative the results are of what people want.” Holding elections are costly no matter the turnout – from coding the ballots in Framingham’s 18 precincts, to staffing poling places with workers and police. The Jan. 19 election to fill the seat of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy also comes with extra costs necessitated by setting up the polls the day before, a state holiday, Mulvey said. But in two states, Oregon and Washington, a vote-by-mail system means voters receive and can return their ballots by mail, eliminating the need for poling places. In both states, the system is aime
