[UPDATE: During a meeting with all of the state's constitutional officers this afternoon, I asked Governor Schwarzenegger what he thinks about the idea. "We have to talk about that," he said. But he added: "If it's less expensive, maybe it's a better way of going." Audio is here. --JM]

As talk heats up of a February 2008 presidential primary here in California, local elections officials from around the state say they will ask that all the ballots be cast by mail.

That proposal will be floated at a legislative hearing at the Capitol on Wednesday by Steve Weir, the registrar of voters in Contra Costa County and the president of the California Association of Clerks and Elected Officials. Weir says he will travel to Sacramento to make the pitch, though he has not been asked to testify at tomorrow's Senate hearing on issue.

The early primary presents a number of problems for county elections officials, not the least of which is that they had planned to have virtually all of 2007 to regroup after five straight years of elections in California. Until now, they had assumed the next statewide election would be in June 2008. An all-mail election would also likely be cheaper than the current figure being shopped around the Capitol: as much as $90 million.

Virtually all players here in Sacramento now say the notion of an early presidential primary... on February 5, 2008... seems to be a done deal. In fact, most of the talk has centered around what else would be on that ballot, including proposals to change the redistricting process and the state's term limits law.

Registrar Weir says he will ask legislators on Wednesday to allow every county to conduct the election by mail, given how many California voters already participate through absentee ballots. "The time has come," said Weir in an interview on Monday, "to see if there's any legitimacy to doing some of our major elections as they do in Oregon and Washington." Those two states have successfully conducted several all-mail elections.

But when told of the idea late Monday, legislative leaders were critical. "An all mail election may reduce costs for county officials," said Senate President pro Tem Don Perata in an emailed statement. "However, this may also disenfranchise voters who have never voted by mail and may thereby limit turnout. This makes no sense."

And it's easy to guess how the political parties would react. One can imagine the reaction nationwide, say, to a close California primary between candidates like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama-- one that might not be decided for several days as the votes are tallied.