State to stop mailing out voter pamphlets?

According to the one page “budget realities” document released by the Senate Democratic caucus, the budget that the Senate has proposed for the 2009-2011 biennium would eliminate funding for mailing out voter pamphlets to Washingtonians before future elections. The voters’ pamphlet is that booklet with candidate statements, full text of ballot measures, and other useful information. Presumably, it would still be available online, and printed copies might be available for pickup, but it would no longer be sent through the postal service to households.

Given that newspapers have fallen on hard times (one major Washington daily, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has ceased publication of its print edition) this seems like a very bad idea. What about senior citizens who don’t have access to a computer, or can’t get around easily? Are the financial savings worth the potential cost of having a less informed electorate? We don’t think so.