CARY MAY MAKE STATE HISTORY WITH FIRST
VOTE BY MAIL ELECTION

CARY, NC – Last night the Cary Town Council voted unanimously to support a Wake County Board of Elections’ request to become the first community in North Carolina to hold an election totally by mail.  If the authorization bill currently before the North Carolina General Assembly is ratified, Cary voters will participate in the pilot Vote By Mail program for their Clean Water Bond referendum slated to occur on
May 3, 2005 .   

Under the Wake County Board of Elections’ proposed Vote By Mail pilot program, traditional polling places would not be used; rather, registered voters would be mailed a ballot, which they would complete and return on or before May 3 to the Wake County Board of Elections via US Postal Mail or by dropping their ballot off at Cary Town Hall or at the Wake County Board of Elections office in Raleigh.  

Proponents of Vote By Mail report higher voter turnout, increased convenience to voters, and additional time for voters to fully read and consider ballot issues without the pressure of people waiting in line behind them.  Vote By Mail also creates a paper trail, and if Vote By Mail is used in Cary , officials estimate that the cost for the election may drop by as much as 30 percent, or up to $25,000.  

Vote By Mail began in Oregon in the 1980s and has since been used in Alaska , California , Colorado , Florida , Kansas , Minnesota , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Mexico , New York , North Dakota , Utah , and Washington .  

“We are excited about the possibility of increased voter turnout at a lower cost to taxpayers,” said Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister. “Being considered as the pilot community for such an important project speaks to Cary ’s position as a reliable, innovative leader in North Carolina and to our terrific relationship with the Wake County Board of Elections.”  

The Town of Cary’s May 3^rd Clean Water Bond referendum  will ask Cary voters to give the Town permission to use as needed a special type of financing—General Obligation bonds—in the amount of $10 million to preserve additional open space and $110 million to help pay for Cary’s share of new, regional wastewater facilities.  General Obligation financing enables governments to borrow money at low interest rates, opening the way for projects to be completed at lower costs than with other sorts of financing.  Cary citizens last approved the use of GO bond financing in 2003 to support $160 million in transportation and recreation improvements.  

Visit the ’05 Clean Water Bond Referendum Web section at www.townofcary.org for details on the election as well as the proposed Vote By Mail pilot project.

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