To the Editor:

Eliminating the privacy envelope for mail-in ballots in Oregon was a mistake. All states have used secret ballots since 1891, and it is now common practice in much of the world. In Oregon’s mail-in system, a name and signature is required on the outer postal envelope but not on the ballot itself. Even if you voted in person, you would be required to identify yourself but there would be no name or signature on the actual ballot, ensuring your vote is secret and private.

What separates the postal envelope and the ballot in Oregon’s mail-in system used to be a privacy envelope. Election workers could open the outer postal envelope and confirm who the voter is, then set the ballot inside the privacy envelope aside for later opening and insertion into the ballot counting machine.

Without the privacy envelope, the person who opens the outer postal envelope could theoretically glance at the ballot and link the name to the voter’s choices. The privacy envelope separated the voter’s name from the ballot choices.

I happen to personally know and trust the Grant County election officials, so my concern is a theoretical one. Voting in the United States is regulated by the states and conducted at the local level. I don’t understand why the privacy envelope is no longer used — was it a money-saving measure? Protecting privacy should be a government’s goal, particularly with elections.

Richard Hanners

John Day