I get that there are good reasons why LPS should not hold a special election in February in order to ask voters to approve a $153 million bond issue. February isn't a great month for an election. It's an unusual time to vote, and the weather is likely to be lousy. There are perfectly good reasons to raise an eyebrow at the idea.
Still, I have to laugh at LIBA's objection to the plan. LIBA, the organization always lambasting LPS for spending too much money, is now complaining that the district is trying to save a million bucks. One wonders if it's even possible for LPS to do anything right in LIBA's eyes.
As long as the vote is done by mail, I'm all in favor. I have scanned the research literature on the issue and, although conclusions about the value of mail-in voting remain a little fuzzy, some consistent trends do appear. First, mail-in voting generates turnouts at least as high as traditional voting. Typically the rates are higher but that hasn't been universal. Second, mail-in voting doesn't appear to affect local elections -- such as the one proposed by LPS -- any differently than larger elections. And third, regardless of turnout, the ratio of voters on either side of an issue does not appear to be significantly impacted by mail-in balloting.
On the other hand, I can't support a traditional election in February. The odds of foul weather messing with the vote are simply too high.
What's your take on this? Should the vote be held in February or May? Why?
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