The inexcusable problems that plagued this year’s elections raised an unholy din of criticism, finger-pointing and demands to fire everyone involved and overhaul the elections process.

Fair enough. What could be more important for a democracy than protecting the integrity of the vote?

Ballot shortages on Oahu and delays in opening voting precincts on Hawaii island disenfranchised some voters who were unable to adjust. The state Elections Commission rightly will investigate what needs to be done to prevent such problems from recurring. The public needs clearer answers from state elections chief Scott Nago as to why the ballot-supply formula failed to anticipate demand, and why it took so long to respond to requests for more ballots. So far the answers have been vague and unsatisfying.

Absent a rational explanation, the possibility of major change becomes more attractive. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has urged that Hawaii conduct its elections entirely by mail, as Washington and Oregon already do.

"It makes good sense," he said.

Yes, it does — but only with careful preparation and the right priorities firmly in mind. After all, voting is a fundamental right. Any eligible voter who wants to vote must have a reasonable opportunity to vote. The voter must be able to mark the ballot in secret, free of coercion. Finally, that vote, if properly cast, must be counted.

Any voting system that impinges on these priorities will undermine voting integrity and must be rejected. Other issues, such as efficiency, convenience and cost, are less important.

All-mail balloting does hold out the promise of convenience and economy. No longer would the state need to round up hundreds of volunteers to manage dozens of precincts across the state. Ballot shortages or late-opening precincts would be history. Voter turnout might even increase, as it has in Oregon and Washington, albeit modestly. And, so far, there have been no serious problems reported in Hawaii’s more limited absentee mail-in balloting.

Nonetheless, all mail-in voting isn’t perfect. First, not all votes are counted. Of the 127,528 packets mailed out on Oahu for the 2012 general election, more than 1,800 packets were returned because the voter no longer resided at that address. For security reasons, they were not forwardable. Another 183 signatures were deemed invalid, and other ballots were spoiled through voter error. Unlike voting at a traditional polling booth, where problems can be spotted and corrected before the polls close, it’s likely that absentee ballots with problems will simply be discarded. Unfortunately, the state has little information about how and why these mail-in ballots fail. It should know more, so it can take steps to improve absentee voting and ensure that no voter is improperly denied the right to have his ballot counted.

There’s also the security problem. One of the crucial tenets of a free electorate is the right to vote in secret and free of coercion. Without bright-line restrictions, it will be tempting for candidates and their supporters to go door-to-door — a time-honored tradition in Hawaii — and, in effect, put themselves in the voting booth with the voter. This is not a hypothetical concern. Romy Cachola, who won a seat in the state House with a preponderance of absentee votes, walked his district carrying absentee ballot applications and offering advice and instructions on the process.

But it’s easy to imagine candidates stepping over the line and guiding a confused voter’s choices, especially when many legislative races are decided by a mere handful of votes. An anonymous voter accused Cachola of trying to cross that line, a charge he has vigorously denied.

These issues can be dealt with. Legislation that keeps candidates at a safe distance from balloting should be considered. Counties will need to invest in mailing and screening equipment, including automated scanners to supplement the temporary workers who manually check signatures against a database. The U.S. Postal Service will have to ensure the timely delivery of ballot packets; this is a problem in Washington, where officials fear the closure of five mail-processing centers could delay vote counting in the next election. Hawaii’s elections official need more precise data on how all-mail balloting is working here. And voters — yes, all of us — bear the most responsibility for following instructions and casting properly filled-out ballots.

It’s unfortunate that the 2012 elections, one of the most consequential in recent times, was plagued by such confidence-sapping problems. An all-mail system may be the answer; but let’s not trade one problem-plagued election system for another. Move ahead, with due diligence.