Redwood City, CA - Wednesday, the chance for San Mateo County to participate in a pilot project that would have enabled the County to hold all-mail elections for a period of five years was shelved in committee.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee accepted a recommendation from its committee consultants and the leadership of both parties to place a "Hold" on the bill, effectively ending the opportunity this year to save the County, its special districts, school districts and cities millions of dollars in replacement election equipment and ongoing election costs.

"This is the year that, if enacted, the County of San Mateo would have been able to forestall the $7 million dollar expenditure of replacement voting equipment," explained Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County. "That opportunity is now lost. However, if the bill were to pass in the next legislative session, we would still realize substantial savings because all-mail elections cost 30-40% less than regular elections."

"However, even more than the substantial dollar savings, we lost the chance to engage more people in the practice of democracy," said Slocum. "It’s a shame because the more people that participate in a democracy, the stronger the fabric of our community becomes," commented Slocum. "Good government advocates like the California League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the California State Association of Counties, the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors all threw their support behind this bill."

"And where better to pilot a project? San Mateo County has a reputation in California for being innovative, collaborative and focused on providing excellent services to our people. We are most proud of the reputation we have earned in our efforts to provide the citizens of San Mateo County with open, honest, fair and secure elections. I believe that if AB 867 (Liu) had been enacted, we would have created a new model for voting in California. "