OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington has become the second state in the nation, after Oregon, to move to all elections by mail.
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 5124 which requires all counties to use the vote-by-mail system.
Back in 2005, Washington counties were allowed to decide whether to switch to all vote-by-mail, with the decision to be made by the County Auditor and the County Commission or Council.
Many counties soon signed up, with some also holding public advisory votes.
Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased that the state is now all vote-by-mail and predicted that the system will spread to other states.
“It simplifies things for the voter and for the election administrators not to have two parallel methods of voting. It is less expensive and I believe it boosts voter participation,” Reed said.
