Helena resident Joe Hollowell said he mailed in his ballot this year, voting for the first time in about a decade.

If he hadn't received his ballot in his mailbox this fall, he likely wouldn't have voted, he said.

Officials are calling this year's city election a success, and several city commissioners said they would be willing to give the mailbox poll another go-round in years to come.

Voter turnout reached a jaw-dropping 61.5 percent, higher than any city vote in the past three decades and almost double the turnout in 2005, when 30.9 percent of Helena voters visited traditional polling stations.

The mail-in vote won't be an option for the 2008 general election, county Clerk and Recorder Paulette DeHart said, although a legislative study committee is contemplating the issue and will report to the 2009 Legislature.

She wants to continue the practice for city elections in the future.

"When the taxpayer dollars are spent to hold an election, and you can garner greater participation, it's worth it," DeHart said. "Whether the taxpayers vote or not, they're paying for the election."

The election of 26-year-old Matt Elsaesser to the City Commission, the passage of a referendum calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and approval of a $7.85 million parks-improvement bond has prompted some to suggest there was greater participation from young voters during the election.

DeHart said most of the folks who walked into her office for late registration and voting were younger residents, but her system doesn't keep track of demographic information for the entire electorate, leaving the impact of young voters unknown.

City commissioners, including one who initially had voted against holding a mail-ballot election, said they support using the practice again in the future.

Commissioner Alan Peura had opposed the option this summer. He considered traditional polling places an essential piece of the voting process. But Peura was pleased with Tuesday's turnout and an anecdotal observation that Helenans had more time to consider their choices before casting a ballot.

"It certainly has increased turnout to some very exciting levels, and I think the excitement generated by the mail-in ballot encourage people to ... be an engaged and informed electorate that cast votes knowing what they were voting for and voting against," he said.

He and Commissioner Sandy Oitzinger agreed the mail ballots are worth trying again.

"I think that the vote count was completely validating as far as how that played out for us," Oitzinger said. "I would do it again and hope to do it again."

Mayor Jim Smith said he was encouraged by the turnout but said he still thinks there's something special about the act of voting in person.

"People's lives have gotten kind of complicated," he admitted. "So maybe a mail ballot is the right way for this time in history."

The mayor has one goal heading into the future. Smith wants to sort out the snafu that invalidated the Helena Citizens Council ballots. A new election will be held Jan. 8 for the neighborhood representatives, which serve as an advisory board to the commission and solicit public input on neighborhood- and city-wide issues.

The mail-in election garnered a few complaints from voters at DeHart's office, but most residents seemed satisfied with the method, she said. Some were miffed at the requirement to use a 41-cent stamp to vote, but DeHart noted many residents dropped their ballots off in person and said the cost of return postage for all ballots otherwise would have to be borne by county taxpayers.

Some residents concerned about identity theft complained of the need to sign the return envelope, but DeHart urged those folks to conceal the signature by using a second envelope.

Resident Lori Hampa-Chamberlain said she always votes in elections, but she enjoyed the convenience of the mail ballot.

"I liked it coming to my house," she said. "I used it. I liked it."

She noted the practice is easier for the elderly and for families with children, who may not have the time to travel to a polling station and wait in line.

Hampa-Chamberlain suggested officials in the future count ballots postmarked by Election Day. "Then, from my perspective, we've made the deadline," she reasoned.

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com