A split Helena City Commission told citizens to mail it in Monday night.

Voting in this fall's primary and general city elections will be done exclusively by mail, after a 3-2 vote. Mayor Jim Smith and commissioners Bob Throssell and Sandy Oitzinger supported the move.

Ballots will go into the mail no more than 19 days before Election Day, giving Helenans roughly two weeks to make their choices but limiting the time between when the first votes are cast and the deadline to ease concerns about late-breaking news influencing some voters but not others.

Elections officials believe the switch will save the city money, since elections judges won't be needed to staff increasingly barren polling places on the first Tuesday in November, and will increase voter participation. The city will pay postage on the mail votes.

The measure passed over the protestations of Commissioner Alan Peura, who said the new system would eliminate the anonymous ballot (since ballots must be signed and signatures compared), provide more opportunities for fraud and effectively shorten campaigns because some people will vote as much as two weeks sooner than they otherwise would have.

"I get concerned that we're eroding the confidence in the democratic system," he said.

He also doubted the mail system would save much money, and that even if it did, that shouldn't be a big concern in the face of protecting the sanctity of the voting process.

Commissioner Paul Cartwright also opposed the measure.

Throssell noted that since the Legislature approved an ongoing absentee voter list several years ago, "that list is growing exponentially and the practical matter is that most of the people who are going to vote in the upcoming city election are going to vote absentee in any event. That cow is already out of the barn."

The mail-in system was approved only for use this September (primary) and November (general election), so Helenans could conceivably return to the polls on Election Day for subsequent municipal elections. Two commission seats will be contested on this fall's ballots.

Budget Build

In other action Monday evening, the commission unanimously approved the city's $49.5 million budget for the year that began on Sunday, tossing in an extra $45,000 at the last minute: $20,000 for a possible engineering study as part of exploring whether to make the city a "railroad quiet zone" with no locomotive blasts required at the city's six crossings; and and additional $25,000 (bringing this year's total to $100,000) for neighborhood traffic calming measures to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.