You can dry them for storage so they don't mold, but to stratify they have to have enough internal moisure for the chilling to work. When you put the dry seeds in damp vermiculite the moisture enters the seed through the seed coat and rehydrates the seed.
If you want to stratify immediately without storing first you don't need to dry them first.
If you don't want to stratify, just plant them without. It's not a requirement it's just to avoid having to wait up to several months for germination if they have seed dormancy.
