ATTENTION absentee ballot voters

[Snotcicles]

I just got my absentee ballot for the upcoming election.
The clerk had hand written the amount of the postage due on the return envelope, (thank goodness)if they
had not done so I would have placed one regular stamp on it and forgotten all about it. While listening to Sam Seder today, a caller called in and said she had a question about the postage rate on her ballot also because of it's size. So she took hers to the post office. They told her the rate and it was more also. She then asked what they would do if and when they received ballots with insufficient postage.
They told her they disposed of them.
I just wonder how many ballots get discarded because people are unaware of this.
So please stamp the crap out of them folks.

[Nictuku]

1. Seems like a dirty trick somehow

[bear425]

2. This is very important. Some absentee ballots also require

that you place the ballot inside a secrecy envelope and also sign the envelope. Any step that's missed: in the trash it goes!

So nice that we live in a democracy where everyone's encouraged to vote!

Be very careful all to follow the directions!

edit: the postage for some can be quite prohibitive. Seems like a poll tax to me.

[Snotcicles]

3. You know damn well the republicans

have informed there flock of all the twists and turns.

[Oreo]

4. Had the same thing in CO

We had the same thing here which was just announced yesterday

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/12/184045/98

Also mixed up the order or YES NO boxes for one of our 18 amendments

[magellan]

5. Is there a valid reason why absentee ballots aren't postage paid?

I can think of a lot of reasons why they should be.

[datadiva]

6. There is extra postage,

some counties however, including mine, will accept the envelopes even with the regular postage. It depends on where you live.

[marions ghost]

7. this kind of junk

is partly what makes me favor mandatory voting.

[BelgianMadCow]

9. We have mandatory voting. Just had a local election.

Our local RW party finally got pushed back in the city they historically grew up in.
:bounce:

I'm glad we have mandatory voting. At least, people will be informed to some degree once every other couple of years.

[marions ghost]

25. yes mandatory voting works

and I think it's especially good for getting the younger populations voting. Over here many don't bother to vote until they're in their 30's or 40's--when it finally sinks in that it may make a significant difference in their lives. The government here has NO interest in helping people vote. Look at the travesty of HAVA--the infamous "Help America Vote Act" which was instituted primarily to spread Diebold all over the country. Or the ridiculous "Election Assistance Commission" a figurehead organization which has no funding to actually DO anything. The government has no interest in helping more people vote and promotes the lie that mandatory voting is yet another "loss of personal freedom."

Mandatory voting works well in more progressive countries like Belgium. The thing I like is that it eliminates so many avenues for corruption, such as this little stamp scam, or disenfranching people based on improper registration--such as the example you point out, rejecting voter registration cards in Ohio based on the weight of the paper used:

"The paper-stock issue is frustrating Montgomery County Board of Elections officials, who have a backlog of registrations to complete. If they get an Ohio voter registration card on paper thinner than required, they are mailing a new card out to the voter. But if they still have the backlog by the registration deadline, Oct. 4, voters will not have another chance to get their correct paperwork in, said Steve Harsman, deputy director of the Montgomery County board." http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/9/27/125755/309

This is inexcusable.

We have got to get rid of this byzantine, Mickey Mouse, pathetically corrupt voting "system"--it's not even a system, it's just a mess, an insult to the concept of Democracy.

[BelgianMadCow]

27. People don't complain about it either

and indeed, the HAVA act is one more example of repub doublespeak. Clear skies act :puke:

[BelgianMadCow]

8. 04 Ohio paper weight Blackwell scam flashback

they are disposed of? Not going conspiracy theory here, but that is no way to respect democracy at work.

[cui bono]

10. Disposed of??? They send regular mail back to you if it has no postage on

it!!!

That's a bunch of bullcrap.


Anyway, you should hand carry your absentee ballots to your polling place for the safest vote.

[lonestarnot]

21. Exactree!

[qnr]

11. You'd think part of our tax dollars could be set aside to pay insufficient

postage on absentee ballots.

[tenshi816]

12. My Georgia absentee ballot

envelope says "U.S. Postage Paid - 39 USC 3406" and "No Postage Necessary in the U.S. Mail - DMM 703.8.0".

Of course I'm aware it doesn't apply to me because I'm outside the USA. I pay the postage and the extra to require a signature on the other end. They may shred my vote once it gets there, but by God it will get there.

[banana republican]

19. Unfortunately 39 USC 3406

deals ONLY with service members serving overseas.

http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/39C34.txt

[tenshi816]

23. How odd - that's the envelope they sent me.

It's immaterial to me anyway - I always pay the postage for registered mail because I want a receipt.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. Can you send them Priority?

That's what I want to do. I did it with the application form, and it worked out okay. I don't mind the extra cost as long as I know my vote is being counted.

[banana republican]

20. I think that this will be a state by state determination

Some state require ballots be received on the date of the election or before; others require them to be postmarked on the date of the election or before.

Up until a few years ago the IRS accepted returns as being "timely filed" only if they were send via the US postoffice. the rules were reciently changed to allow mailing by UPS, FedEx, and one or two others....

[TexasLawyer]

14. Emergency Ballots

Many of the problems applying here to Emergency Ballots also seem to apply to Absentee Ballots.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2384945

[Peace Patriot]

15. Hand-deliver your Absentee Ballot to the polling place on election day, or

to the registrar's office beforehand, or mail it registered/return receipt requested, or Fed Ex--to insure that it gets there.

Regular mail for Ballots should be FREE, of course. If Congress-critters get free mail, why not our BALLOTS that THEORETICALLY hold the power to elect or remove those Congress-critters? (As with health care and pension plans, they get the best, and we don't--yet we, theoretically, are their employers!).

In fact, I'd be for FREE registered mail for ballots. The U.S. postal service is not that reliable. I heard Oregon--which has had an all mail-in system for a while--has some sort of system for checking that your ballot was received (I think, by phone).

Although I strongly favor MASSIVE Absentee Ballot voting this fall, as a protest and strategy to get rid of the machines, I don't favor it in general. The old precinct hand-count of paper ballots--with results posted immediately at the precinct level--is by far the most secure voting method. Canada does it in one day. But speed shouldn't even be a consideration--only the accuracy and verifiability of the results.

Going to the precinct to vote is also a great American tradition--a community thing, everybody nodding quietly at each other, as we do our civic duty. They're cutting back on precincts everywhere--centralizing vote counting (not good)--and COST-CUTTING while they pay millions of OUR dollars to these Bushite electronic voting corporations to fiddle our votes with their TRADE SECRET programming. Disgusting. Put the money into MORE PRECINCTS, paper ballots and REAL vote counting.

But this fall is different. Because of the many breakdowns in this crapass Bushite electronic voting technology, and the danger of strategic breakdowns to disenfranchise people--an Absent Ballot is the ONLY guarantee that you will be able to cast a vote.

You cannot rely on the machines working. You cannot rely on possibly corrupt or negligent election officials to supply paper ballots if they do. In Calif, we supposedly have the right to request a paper ballot on election day, but corrupt officials have tried to substitute "provisional" ballots, which are nearly worthless (easily tossable). DON'T VOTE ON A "PROVISIONAL" BALLOT, if you can avoid it.

The Calif deadline for requesting an Absentee Ballot is OCTOBER 31. (It's one week later than the deadline to register to vote--Oct. 23.) Check local rules for other states.

Bust the Machines--Vote by Absentee Ballot this November!

If enough people do it--if everyone who despises the Bush Junta (60% to 70% of the American people!)--votes by AB this fall, the reign of these diabolical machines will be OVER! They cannot defend this rigged system--and will be forced to reform it, or resign--if NOBODY WILL VOTE ON THEIR MACHINES!

Be aware--sometimes they just scan AB votes right into the rigged system. Sometimes they shove the AB votes aside, and "call" the election on the e-vote. Bad, bad. But AB voting is STILL the only way you can BOYCOTT the machines and pressure officials to reform the system, and the ONLY guarantee against machine "breakdowns" on election day.

Raise hell with election officials on their handling and counting of AB votes. If you can, demand to watch the counting. Take pix, take notes. Contact media. And, if possible, work with a voter protection group to closely monitor the polling and analyze results.

[wiley]

16. Very Important Post. Good Work!

Very, very important post. Also, follow up and ask to see if your ballot has been received and if they have assigned it a number for internal tracking. If they can't tell you that your ballot was received, raise a stink right away.

Also, remember this: tons of mail that has TOO MUCH postage is routinely segregated and sent to holding centers if the postal facility is not equipped with the technology to see if it is a threatening package or letter. Think about some local postmaster sitting on thousands of ballots for months waiting for resolution of issues such as these. It can happen

Don't EVER believe that a Republican will not sink so low as to destroy, mangle, discard a vote, or otherwise intimidate or prevent someone from having their vote count. We are not dealing with ethical people. Have they not clearly and repeatedly demonstrated that?

[banana republican]

17. happened to me during the primary in Sept.

By chance I took the ballot to the PO and paid $.60+ on it.

[Nikki Stone 1]

18. Thanks for this! Recommended

Not that it needs it...
:)

[Pachamama]

22. Mine says "Place Sufficient First-Class Postage Here"

Wow...I am in California and I'll be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that I insist on going in to the County Registrar of Voters office and personally hand-deliver on election day, I would have just assumed it was $.39 and popped it in the mail box. I'll go ask tommorrow at the post office how much it is.

This is a really scary thought that the vast majority of people could put the wrong postage on and that it never gets delivered. Is that possible? Aren't letters/mail that don't have sufficient postage supposed to be returned to sender w/ a notice saying "insufficient postage"?

:shrug:

[Eurobabe]

24. OH up to usual dirty tricks, ballot issue

The candidates are all alpha until you get to one particular race, I was a little jet lagged after my flight home, and ended up choosing the WRONG oval for this pair. I called the BOE and asked what should I do? They said to put a note in with my ballot requesting that the registrar redo my entire ballot for me. I am really in a quandry, because I don't trust this gang of thieves in my old county to record my preferences, and I will never get a copy of it either. I am voting from overseas.

So I guess I will sacrifice one bad vote for the rest of the good ones, at least I will be able to sleep at night...I just don't trust them to record my choices. Isn't that sick?

[AlamoDemoc]

26. K&R