Imagine having no excuse to not vote in an election and knowing that your vote would be counted and verified if necessary.

In recent elections, allegations of fraud have been rampant. Reports of voters being alienated from specific polling locations and problems with electronic touch screen voting machines were not uncommon. In some places, a voter would attempt to vote for a candidate, only to see the opposing candidate’s name appear on the screen as his or her choice.

Voting by mail is the answer to many of the problems voters express they have with traditional voting and increases voter turnout. About two weeks before an election, every registered voter would be mailed a ballot to his or her home. During this time, voters would choose the candidate that they wished to vote for, and simply mail back the ballot or drop it off at a designated area.

We have all heard the reasons that people use when they do not vote in an election, and they are credible. Perhaps they had to work, were busy with their families, had no transportation to the polling place, or had no desire to travel long distances to wait in line. These all lead to lower voter turnout. In the 2004 election, around 59% of eligible voters in Kentucky actually cast a ballot. While in Oregon, which has mostly voted by mail since 1998, a resounding 70% of voters did.

With voting by mail, voters would have plenty of time to cast their ballots, fraud would decrease by signing the ballot and the presence of a paper trail, and Kentuckians would have more faith in the nation’s elections.

Economically, voting by mail is more cost efficient to the community. In Oregon, the average cost for an election is 30% lower than it is for a traditional one. This would save our state as well as the taxpayers money.

However, perhaps the best reason to bring voting by mail to Kentucky is that it would simply bring about more democracy. When more people vote, the government is more representative of we, the people.