Ohio lawmakers reject plan for prepaid postage on absentee ballots

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Republicans on Ohio’s Controlling Board rejected Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s request to attach prepaid postage on every mail-in ballot in the state of Ohio.

In a Monday meeting, the Republican-majority board voted 4-2 along party lines to turn down LaRose’s $3 million ask, making it nearly impossible for Ohio absentee ballots to go out with prepaid postage.

“Ohio has a sound elections system, but today was another missed opportunity by the legislature to make a small change, without an impact on our state budget, that would yield a big improvement,” LaRose said in a statement following the vote.

LaRose, who used CARES Act funding to mail an absentee ballot request form to every registered voter in Ohio, initially asked lawmakers in May to pay the postage return. He first went to the controlling board Aug. 24.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ohio-lawmakers-reject-plan-for-prepaid-postage-on-absentee-ballots/ar-BB194pBy?li=BB141NW3&ocid=DELLDHP

[Iliyah]

1. WOW .. all acrross the USA the republicans are doing their damnest . .

to stop people from voting. All the hoop-law about democracy from them was a ruse.

[Towlie]

16. Maybe they're not trying to stop voting but to concentrate all votes to follow a big Nov. 1st hoax.

I suspect Trump plans some totally false yet somehow compelling gimmick to be launched just a day or two before the election. It will be something that will take a couple of days to effectively counter and debunk, but by then it'll be too late. If that's his plan then it'll be spoiled by votes that are spread out over a period of several weeks.

Fortunately for me, in Florida mail-in ballots don't need stamps, or at least they haven't so far.

[SharonClark]

2. I can't imagine how made ballot requests and ballots are never mailed for lack of a postage stamp.

It's just another form of voter suppression.

[Javaman]

3. Isn't requiring someone to use a stamp to mail in their vote

Amounts to a pole tax?

[GoCubsGo]

4. No, but it does amount to a poll tax.

[Javaman]

5. I hate auto fill lol nt

[ret5hd]

6. I hate automobile fill.

[Towlie]

18. Yes, a sort of poll tax, but especially effective when you'd have to stand in line to buy a stamp.

The appeal of mail-in ballots is to not stand in line and catch the virus in order to vote, but if you have to stand in line at the post office to buy a stamp then what's the point?

[GeorgeGist]

7. It pays to be a cheapskate ...

if you're a Republican.

[AmyStrange]

8. Idiots!

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It actually was that way here in Washington for a while, but democrats are smarter than republicans.
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[AmyStrange]

9. A trick for mailing things without postage.

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Just switch "TO" and "FROM." Make the "FROM" address, the one the ballots are supposed to go, and put your return address as the address the mail is going to, without postage.

The letter will go to the return address (ballot address) for lack of postage.

I've done this before, and it does work, but I'm not sure it's legal.
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[SharonClark]

10. FFS - Just go buy a stamp.

[AmyStrange]

11. This is for people who don't have money for stamps...

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I can afford them, but as surprising as this may sound to you, some people don't even have that.
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[LisaL]

12. I don't think people should do anything of the sort.

Messing with the envelope could potentially even invalidate the ballot. You are provided with an official envelope to mail your ballot.
If people don't have stamps and can afford to buy them, they shouldn't be applying to vote absentee.

[AmyStrange]

13. You could be right n/t

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[superpatriotman]

15. +1

C’mon.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. But the ballots will come with envelopes that already have the To

printed on it. Your trick, which really isn't legal, is only going to work when you address the envelope yourself.

[AmyStrange]

17. True, but...

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I heard somewhere that you can now make address labels with a printer to cover old address labels.

Technology is so cool.
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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. I suppose you could do that,

but it's still illegal. And someone doing that with a ballot is running a huge risk of it not being delivered.

The postage should be less than a dollar. For those who simply cannot afford to spend that, if they live in a state where the only way to deliver such a ballot is by mail, perhaps someone can figure out a way to pay for the stamps for those people.

[AmyStrange]

20. Forgetting to put a stamp on an envelope is illegal?

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Is forgetting to a put a stamp on an envelope a felony or something?
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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Deliberately switching the To and From

so it will be sent without postage, if not actually illegal, is certainly unethical.

And again, this is really about being able to send a mail-in ballot without postage. Those envelopes are pre-printed, so that switch really isn't going to work.

Of course, the real crime is that some states aren't making those envelopes prepaid in the first place, and are not providing secure drop-off places.

[AmyStrange]

22. That last part, of course, we can definitely agree on n/t