Democrats in the Colorado Legislature began pushing the state’s election process toward all-mail balloting several years ago. Their premise was that easing voting would, over time, benefit Democratic candidates. Evidence supporting this hypothesis was thin. Oregon, the first state in the nation to adopt an all-mail, all-the-time ballot process had experienced growing Democratic majorities. Republican legislators resisted these Democratic proposals, but the success of Cory Gardner’s U.S. Senate campaign this past November and the Republicans’ recapture of a state Senate majority after a decade in the minority raises interesting questions. Is it possible that mail balloting strengthens the majority that inherently exists in the electorate irrespective of party?

Oregon was already a sky blue state that turned royal blue and now appears on the way toward navy blue. Colorado has never been better than purple. Perhaps the string of Democratic successes during the past decade, driven largely with dollars, has obscured a lingering pink hue to the state’s voting rolls. If mail ballots begin to drive Republican victories and a redder electorate, it won’t take long for Republican legislators to embrace the virtues of this Democratic strategy. The loss of neighborhood polling places joins the loss of other civic institutions reported in Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone.” There is real value in the joshing conversations with election judges (“I’m here to cancel out your vote, Fred”), as well as the sidewalk discussions with neighbors and the satisfaction of performing a shared civic responsibility. Mail voting becomes yet another task performed in the privacy of one’s kitchen.

This past week’s branch-shearing spring snow reminded me of Federico Peña’s surprise victory in Denver’s 1983 primary election. Fourteen-year incumbent Bill McNichols had badly bungled snow removal following the Christmas blizzard of ‘82, leaving city streets nearly impassable well into the new year. Snow began falling early on May 3, increasing in intensity as the day progressed. Voters were reminded of the administration’s failure just a few months earlier and the “invincible’ mayor ran third with just 19 percent of the vote. Peña placed first with 36 percent, trailed by District Attorney Dale Tooley, with 30 percent. Peña’s momentum carried him to a 51-49 runoff win against Tooley and introduced the tilde to Denver’s typesetters.

Today, better than 90 percent of voters would have cast their ballots by Election Day. In fact politically active, “high information voters” are most likely to return their ballots within 72 hours of receiving them. If the mail ballot becomes a permanent feature of Colorado elections, it seems certain that a future candidate will implode the weekend before Election Day without affecting the outcome.

Mail balloting saves public money — no need to round up and train lots of poll judges or locate and negotiate handicap accessible voting stations. Machines don’t have to be moved, nor do they break down. Long lines and irritable voters are a thing of the past. Little wonder that county clerks have embraced the new scheme irrespective of party affiliation. Candidate costs have soared as advertising must peak earlier and then be sustained through Election Day. Savvy voters return their ballots early in order to fend off the flood of calls or door pounding volunteers hounding them to vote. Results are reported earlier, often within 15 minutes after the polls close, reflecting the vote count through the previous day. No nail-biting wait for results from a missing precinct. Fewer inebriated supporters crying in their beers.

Technophiles are salivating at the opportunity for online voting, just as soon as they can work out the security protocols — green elections with no wasted paper ballots. Oh fabulous day! Callooh, callay! What could go wrong? Hackers, who have successfully cracked White House emails, stolen Pentagon war plans and run off with the credit card passwords for millions of Americans would never, never think about stuffing our virtual ballot boxes — would they? No, of course not. And, if we can just replace those pesky caucuses with open primaries, voters will never have to discuss politics with their neighbors again. Achieving a democracy dominated by the sounds of silence should be just the ticket. (Didn’t someone warn us the path to hell is paved with good intentions?)

— Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant. He can be reached at mnhwriter@msn.com.