Gretchen Hoffman
With no system in place to prohibit voter fraud and a history of
low voter turnout, an election committee for the Crescenta Valley
Town Council is looking to make some changes.
The committee is calling on the council to do away with absentee
ballots altogether -- a move the committee's three members believe
will help ensure a fair election.
It's a recommendation that is expected to come under fire at
Thursday's Town Council meeting, both from within the advisory body
and from community members who can't make it to the polling site
during the current four-hour window for voting.
"Our biggest concern is fraud," Councilwoman and committee member
Sharon Raghavachary said. "We know that the possibility is out there.
One bad vote can make the difference between someone getting elected
and someone not getting elected."
Because the council has no access to voter records, the members
have no way to know if someone should be voting in the election, or
even if the voter is who he or she claims to be.
"The problem is when we have absentee ballots and people walking
in on election day with 10 ballots, it raises a question mark,"
President Danette Erickson said.
Erickson said she intends to propose an alternate solution, one
that would require voters to request and submit absentee ballots by
mail. Adding the additional trips to the mailbox would discourage
people from stuffing the ballot box and cut down on the hassles
involved in delivering absentee ballots door to door, she said.
Last year, about 10% of the votes were cast by absentee ballot,
officials said.
The committee proposals also include keeping the poll site open
for eight hours, instead of four.
Any changes to the election process would require the group to
amend its bylaws.
