Voting by mail; electing to stay at USD

April 12, 2008

Casting aside the tradition of trekking to the neighborhood polling place, people increasingly are finding it more convenient to vote “absentee.” In San Diego County, the vote-by-mail crowd is pushing up past 40 percent of the electorate. That trend is mirrored throughout California and other states. Still, 22 states restrict voters' ability to vote by mail, limiting it to groups such as the elderly, disabled or those in the military. So we were heartened to see a key House committee approve a bill by Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, that would require all states to allow an unrestricted mail-ballot option. We likewise have hope for two other Davis bills to require free postage for mailing absentee ballots and, to guard against fraud, the tracking of such ballots from mail box to election headquarters.

We are gratified that University of San Diego basketball coach Bill Grier, fresh from the NCAA tournament, turned down a multiyear offer worth $4 million or so from Oregon State to stay on the hill in Linda Vista. There is more to life than money, as Grier has said. And the coach reportedly did not get a raise to stay at the private university. Still, as refreshing as Grier and his success are, we caution USD backers in particular and county sports fans in general not to get too comfortable. Just yesterday, Grier's name was one of those being mentioned for the Stanford job that opened up Thursday. In any case, if the coach takes the Toreros back to the tournament next year, you can be sure he will have lucrative offers to move again – and this time to places more desirable than Corvallis, Ore.

 »Next Story»