By Nathan Baca, News Channel 3 Reporter
nbaca@kesq.com

DESERT HOT SPRINGS - Voting by mail could one day be the only way to vote in Riverside County. Local election officials say they're pushing to change the way we vote.

Nearly half of local voters already vote by mail. But voting by mail could bring a never-ending campaign cycle.

The day before Election Day, the votes are already being counted. Mail-in ballots have been arriving for weeks at the Riverside County Registrar's Office. Many voters have chosen to ignore Election Day altogether.

Pat Kelly votes by mail because, "Trying to locate where your place is where you're going to go vote, it changes every year where we are so we're constantly having to get out a map book and look it up. So, we finally got tired of that."

Vince Highte explains, "I'm ex-military and we used to always vote by mail-in ballots. So I just got used to it and we enjoy it."

Riverside County is pushing for a statewide pilot program to go to an all mail-in ballot system. Running up to 800 polling places on Election Day can get costly.

Assistant Registrar Doug Kinzle adds, "That legislation got approved by the Legislature and got all the way to the Governor's desk, but in the mass veto at the end of the year, that legislation was vetoed. We're getting closer to try an all-mail ballot. We can get the numbers on turnout and get our voter's reaction."

Desert Hot Springs mayoral candidate Russell Betts is trying some last day campaigning. If all-mail ballots take hold here, Betts and others will have to convince voters much earlier.

"What you've got to do is plan for 2 campaigns. The date the mail-in ballots go out is a very critical date for mailing. We get out blanket mailing for that. Then you have your second campaign up to election day reminding people to get to the polls," says Betts.

Desert Hot Springs Mayor Yvonne Parks says mail-in ballots add yet another unpredictable element in political campaigns.

"Ballots for mail-ins are really mailed 28 days before the day of the election. So, you have to be ready 2 months before you get all of your literature and all of that going. It's a challenge to make sure you have the fundraising. Now, I'm hearing people start a year in advance," says Parks.