PORT ANGELES — Patty Rosand, Clallam County auditor, answered elections questions for about 40 members of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce earlier this week.
Issues that chamber members brought up Monday included general questions about elections, as well as questions about current issues.
Here are questions and answers:
■ Why is there a primary with only two candidates?
State law requires one when a partisan office has more than one candidate, there must be a primary, Rosand said.
In the past, if there was a write-in candidate, it only took one vote for that candidate to make it to the general election.
Now it has to be one of the top two, she said.
The top two vote-getters proceed to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
The group that represents auditors in Washington will discuss the law and work to get it changed, she said.
The current primary election will cost the county $35,000, she said.
■ How and when can non-citizens vote?
“Only citizens of this country can vote,” Rosand said.
There is only one way a foreign national, even one who legally entered the U.S. and has a work visa, can vote in U.S. elections: Get naturalized, she said.
However, there is no requirement to confirm the citizenship of those registering to vote.
There is little problem with illegally registered non-citizens voting in Clallam County, Rosand said.
The county’s minority language population is so small, the county, along with most of the North Olympic Peninsula, is not required to print multilingual ballots, she said.
“We’re not finding an influx of Canadians flooding our voter rolls,” she said.
■ Why do I have to have a physical address?
Even if the resident does not receive mail at his or her home, a home address is necessary to determine what voting precinct the voter is assigned to, Rosand said.
“Otherwise, the post office would have a lot of representation,” she said.
■ How do we engage more eligible voters?
“There is a real need to get younger people involved in voting,” Rosand said.
“It’s tough getting young people engaged,” she said.
Campaigns have included a Peninsula College essay contest and a civics photo contest.
None has worked, and the vote by mail system is making it even harder to connect with youths, she said.
“They don’t relate to mail,” Rosand said.
“Everything they do is electronic.
“They want to vote on the Internet.”
Rosand noted that when allowed to vote by cellphone or online for reality television contests, young people vote by the millions.
■ Are any inroads being made in implementing a vote-by-Internet system?
There is currently an online voting system in place for members of the military who are stationed overseas, Rosand said.
However, there is not yet a secure system that meets security requirements for civilian needs, she said
Vendors, using the latest technologies, are scrambling to find a way to vote securely online, she said.
Commonly used technologies, such as touch-screens, are helping move closer to reality the day people can vote from their computer at home.
“You can sign your name right on an iPad,” Rosand said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
