Editor:

The City spends millions for suspenders, when the belt works fine. We can get rid of neighborhood polling stations. For several elections, I have hosted a polling place in our garage and worked in it on election day, and I can assure you that its scant use is entirely unjustified. 

Every resident receives a mail-in ballot.  The great majority of voters use these.  Most of my station’s foot traffic is only mail-in ballot drop-offs.

There is a wonderful City Hall polling station.  We should replicate that with polling stations in each district. These should be available to help anyone needing assistance in the weeks before election day.

Here’s the math regarding neighborhood polling stations: An official meets me at my home every election. I receive numerous sets of emails and letters and instructions and confirmations and testing. By truck, equipment is delivered, and later retrieved. Then, additional rounds emails and letters  I will assume this all costs at least a couple of thousand dollars.  

On election day, each station must have an inspector and four paid workers, and I’m also paid to host the station. Numerous officials appear numerous times.  I’ll assume this all costs at least another couple of thousand dollars.

Elsewise, there is the cost of equipment, storage, testing, maintenance and upgrading, which doubtless amortizes to at least a thousand dollars per station.

Totaling this, my station cost the City at least $5,000.  And how many people actually voted here? About 50.  That’s at least $100 per vote! And I am confident they all could have voted by mail or voted in a District polling station.

San Francisco has over 500 polling stations, for primary and general elections. Therefore, each election year, we can save about $5 million from the City’s budget by making it all mail-in ballots and having one well-run polling station in each District. This is simple, people will appreciate the savings, and no one is harmed.

Jason Jungreis