Both states have been refining mail-in voting for two decades, and Oregon in 1998 became the first state to move entirely to mail-in voting.
In addition to the gun laws, Democratic majorities in the legislature passed green-energy requirements for rural electric cooperatives, offered in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants who were Colorado high school graduates, and expanded mail-in voting.
Countering the drawbacks of mail-in voting is the convenience of the thing, which is profound.
Union members, in mail-in voting over the last two weeks, supported the labor agreement 70 percent to 30 percent.
With our votes hidden, the other side becomes faceless, and the use of mail-in voting amplifies this effect.
The critics point out that there has never been a documented case of voter impersonation in Indiana, and that mail-in voting is more prone to fraud.
And despite the convenience that early or mail-in voting offers, some warn, the early casting of ballots actually depresses turnout.
The union, the Public Employees Federation, which represents 56,000 state workers, announced on Tuesday that its members had voted 54 percent to 46 percent against the five-year contract in mail-in voting over the last several weeks.
Although election officials in the Northwest have long encouraged other states to consider mail-in voting, and consistently reject arguments that it can lead to fraud, they said this week that it was not to be embraced hastily.
The tentative three-year contract that includes pay raises and more money for health plans for the two major Hollywood actors unions was overwhelmingly ratified on Monday night after nationwide mail-in voting ended.
Besides Internet voting, a heavily promoted event that lasted five days, the party allowed mail-in voting for the first time, as well as the usual balloting at polling places.
