Absentee ballot postage confusing voters

[bathroommonkey76]

Source: ABC

Thousands of Ohio voters are voting by absentee ballot this year so they don't have to stand in line at the polls on Election Day. Ohio Boards of Elections expect at least 25 percent of all votes to come in this way.

But the U.S. Postal Service says many absentee voters are not putting enough postage on the envelope.

Because of the size of the 2012 mailer,the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Ohio say you should put 65 cents worth of postage on most absentee ballots, about 20 cents more than the standard Forever Stamp.

Making it more confusing: each county has a different absentee ballot. In a few counties, including Warren County, the required postage can be even higher. In Clermont County, which has a thinner ballot, a single stamp may be fine.

Read more: http://www.theindychannel.com/money/dont-waste-your-money/absentee-ballot-postage-confusing-voters_67466917

[msongs]

1. post office needs to deliver them no matter what postage pn them - nt

[DRoseDARs]

2. Hell, more simple than that, it needs to be postage free. A poll tax is a poll tax is a poll tax...

...and poll taxes are unconstitutional.

[Fearless]

3. +1000!

[marble falls]

20. Pretty damn obvious to me, too.

[lynne]

25. Yes, they should deliver them but NO, it's no more a poll tax -

- than the cost of my gasoline to drive to the poll. Postage is only needed because the voter chose to vote by mail, no government entity is requiring that they vote that way.

Every voter incurs some expense to vote. Had they not voted by mail, they would incur an expense to get to the poll via gas, taxi, or bus. The only way not to incur a cost to vote is to walk to the poll and you end up spending $$$ in shoe leather to get there. At 65 cents, they're getting off far cheaper than what it will cost me in gas to vote at the poll.

But, yes, they should be delivered. Next election, they need to find a way to make sure that the ballot will only require one stamp.

[2pooped2pop]

11. yep

they can be delivered postage due.

[RBInMaine]

4. PUT ON TWO STAMPS TO BE SAFE. Instructions with the ballot should say so, and they should be advert-

tising this fact in all media so people are not confused. People can also return ballots in person.

[bathroommonkey76]

5. The news station is in Indiana, not Ohio.

I haven't seen any stories online from Ohio that have even mentioned this to their viewers.

[ColumbusLib]

22. Front page of Columbus Dispatch a few weekends ago

I mailed my ballot today with two forever stamps. There was an article about two weekends ago on the front page of the Dispatch telling people to use extra postage.

[greiner3]

8. "Instructions with the ballot should say so..."

The instructions say, "May require extra postage..." but nothing definitive. Unless you look for it, even this statement is lost among all the other instructions.

This is the first time since absentee voting for all, maybe 5-6 years, that this is the case. There will be a LOT of ballots without the required postage.

[RBInMaine]

33. It's an issue the voting board is going to have to remedy. I always put two stamps on mine.

[joshcryer]

37. Here in Colorado the place for the stamp says "requires 65 cents of postage."

My problem was that I have forever stamps and I couldn't for the life of me remember how much a stamp costed!

[NEOhiodemocrat]

6. My daughter's ballot is mailed back in here in Ohio

The instructions in the envelope said that it would take 65 cents postage so I took it in to the post office and had it weighted to be sure. And that is what it cost. I am reminding friends that if their family uses the post office for absentee ballot to be sure and put on enough postage. You or a close family member can drop the ballot off at the election board office, but in our case that is a 40 minute drive away.
But I know that sometimes people don't really read instructions very well, I had the same thought, these should be postage paid. I would hate for anyone to lose their vote over a little postage.

[Blue State Bandit]

7. It would be in the Postal Service's best interest to deliver those ballots...

even with no postage at all.

They may lose a few tens of thousands on it, but they will be privatized out of existence if Republicans win.

[Carigal]

17. WA state

Washington State votes by mail-in ballots. There have been articles in the paper saying that the Post Office would deliver all the ballots even if they do not have enough postage on them. So I would think that the Post Offices anywhere would do the same.

[HockeyMom]

9. Is your signature on the outside envelop in Ohio?

I have a Florida ballot and the signature will be "verified" before it's even opened they said. I don't like that. Besides the fraud issue, what happens if the envelop gets wet, the ink smears, and they cannot read the signature? Will they just throw it out? Send it BACK and not make it back in time?

I don't trust the state of Florida AT ALL. I will be back 2 days before the election, so I am bringing my ballot in person to the polls myself.

[LisaL]

16. That's the best way to go. Bring it in in person.

Make sure to find what what an approved location is to bring the absentee ballot in.
You can do the same in OH-bring it into the board of elections. The signature is on the inside, so-called "identification" envelop in OH.
That envelop is put into a larger envelop.
And it takes more than one stamp.

[joshcryer]

38. The secrecy sleeve should protect your vote.

If someone is caught looking into the secrecy sleeve while opening the envelope they are in deep trouble.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. "about 20 cents more"? Would it have hurt the reporter to give the precise figure?

it is, as far as I can tell, 21 cents more. So, presumably, sticking a forever stamp and 21 cents of other stamps would work. But 20 cents of other stamps wouldn't. Way to be helpful, reporter.

[wordpix]

12. I was wondering about this for my absentee ballot for CT

It says "place stamp here" so I put one stamp but with both an inner and outer envelope, I later thought, u-oh.

[julian09]

13. What is the rate for junk mail?

[happyslug]

21. Junk mail is NOT forward-able NOR Returnable, thus cheaper

One of the things you are paying for when you mail things first class mail, is that it will be forwarded if the address is correct OR returned if not forward-able. Junk mail is just thrown away if it is undeliverable.

Thus you want it Mailed First Class, the Postal Service will get it to the right address if at all possible,

[Tree-Hugger]

14. It's a slippery slope

Yeah, it sucks that the postage isn't correct and, hopefully, people will read directions carefully and take their ballots to the post office to be certain. However, were the Post Office to withhold and send these ballots back to the voters' homes, perhaps risking the voter not having enough time to send it back, couldn't that be seen as interfering with an election?

[DallasNE]

15. Is This Different Than Past Elections

If so this is still another form of voter suppression and another black eye on America. How is it that we can no longer conduct free and fair elections? Simple question.

[UCmeNdc]

18. The postal service should deliver them no matter what.

That is a downright shame that some people have to pay more to vote than other people.

[wordpix]

19. I agree and can we get a "Deliver the Vote" petition going?

Asking the PO to deliver each ballot, no matter what. I am concerned about my vote now, Chris Murphy (D) is in a tight race for Lieberman's Senate seat against the dimwit WWE "let's abuse women" candidate, Linda McMahon (R). I REALLY need for my vote to count in that race.

[L0oniX]

23. There may be a law that compels them to deliver because voting is government business.

It could be viewed that the USPO would be interfering with voting. Government blocking the vote because of a poll tax? Ballots should be prepaid.

[Jersey Devil]

24. My c0unty (Bergen) in NJ had the same problem, fortunately solved by a Democratic county clerk

The absentee ballots cost 65 cents to return but there are no instructions on the ballot about that. So the county clerk, who counts all ballots, made a deal with the USPO substation (South Hackensack) that handles all mail in the county to deliver all ballots and bill the county clerk for any insufficient postage. The estimate is that it will cost about $4,000

[wordpix]

28. unfortunately my clerks in CT are both R

[defacto7]

26. In this day and age...

How can casting a vote be more complicated and problematic than simply sending a letter or delivering a piece of mail?
Can't people figure out how to put a stamp or two on an important letter?
Can't the officials make it clear enough?

To answer my own questions:

It's not.
Yes they can.
Yes they can.

The problem is:

It's allowed to be more difficult.
People don't do snail mail anymore and are take it for granted.
They don't want it to be clearer.

[Melinda]

27. My Absentee ballot envelope is postage prepaid: Image

This is a nation wide election, and all absentee ballot return envelopes should be postage prepaid. This smells like a poll tax to me.

Those of us who vote absentee in CA are obviously way more equal than the rest of y'all.

Something is (literally) wrong with this picture.

[Retrograde]

29. Not necessarily

It seems to vary by county within California - my ballot in Santa Clara Co. cost $0.65 to mail back (at least they told us the postage this time), San Francisco Co. apparently has postage-paid envelopes.

Would it be too much to ask to have uniform voting procedures, at least on a state by state basis?

[wordpix]

31. now I'm feeling discriminated against b/c I live in CT, put a stamp on & don't know if I should have

used TWO.

Seriously, some people get postage paid and others have to put on 2-3 stamps and there's total confusion about the amount. If my voted isn't counted I'm crying "discrimination" to get someone's attention.

[bigworld]

30. As someone who's done a bit of graphic design,

I have to say I've seen very little good graphic design by any election bureau.

Remember the Florida Bush V Gore ballots, how terribly they were laid out?

And these absentee ballots should have been planned to either fit in a regular envelope, or have a postpaid business reply mail design.

Terrible planning by whomever is in charge.

[RobinA]

32. Is Anyone Else

the least bit disturbed that people can't seem to successfully mail a letter anymore?

[du_grad]

34. It costs $1.30 in Lucas County

...to send in your absentee ballot, as there are lots of issues and the ballot is two pages both sides. This is the first year the ballot has not had return postage paid. I'm not sure how Husted pulled that one off, but he managed.

Ohio does not require the signature to be on the outside envelope. You must put the required information on the outside of the "inside" envelope, which actually holds the ballot. Then all of this is put into the outside envelope. The "inside" envelope is not opened until votes are counted.

[Maeve]

35. If you want to make your voice heard--go to the post office!

Sorry, but different counties have different weights=different rates! If yo want to mail it in, make sure of the postage.

[IndyJones]

36. I wasn't sure of the postage here in CA, but it does state that it is .65 in the

ballot instructions. It would make it easier on everyone if they just printed the postage required right on the envelope where the stamp(s) go.