Insufficient postage on absentee ballots?

[Karenina]

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From Bartcop:

Subject: tricky bastards

This morning I went to the post office here in Sacramento, CA to mail my absentee ballot.

I was informed that the 37 cent stamp I had placed on the envelope was not enough postage
to mail my vote, another 23 cents was needed. Nowhere on the ballot envelope or in the instructions
was it indicated that extra postage was required. I've spoken to many people who already have sent
their ballots off with only 37 cents postage who are now worried that their vote may not be counted .

Since I was starting work, I called the one person who I knew would check into this problem, my Mom.
She called to the Sacramento County Registrar's office and was told "the Post Office will deliver the ballots
with the lower postage." However, when she called to the Post Office, she was told that full postage ($.60)
was required to deliver our votes to be tabulated.

We don't want another Florida election. Please let all of your friends and family know that 60 cent postage
is required to mail their absentee ballots, so there will be no vote left behind.

DW in CA

[cmf]

1. OMG

This was my fear when I mailed in my ballot the other day. Does anyone in Washington state know if the ballots require extra postage?

[demosincebirth]

3. Mine said; affix first class postage--Alameda county (CA).

I heard them say the other day that, Sacto county, all ballots will be delivered and they will pay the postage due.

[AntiCoup2K4]

6. They shouldn't.

One ballot card and two envelopes.... that should be under the weight limit for a first class stamp.

[NV Whino]

7. I think the trick is that it is oversized.

Knew I should have checked with P.O. before I mailed it.

[Not Me]

2. Same exact thing in Orange Co. (Orlando) FL.

They require extra postage, but don't indicate it.
Although if you look at the envelope it was mailed in, you can see it cost extra for the Board of Elections to mail it.

I suspect, that the BoE will pay the postage due...do 'ya think?

[Randi_Listener]

4. Hand Deliver

Go to the SOE office and hand them your ballot.

Don't need to worry about postage when you show up in person.

[Weembo]

5. Fix it first

Couldn't we target particular key counties and make a contribution so that they can accept letters iwth insufficient postage and pay for the shortage out of the contributions? Do this on a big scale?

[TrueAmerican]

8. I'm military

and that's exactly what happened to me in 2000. I didn't have time to mail it again. I'm from California and Gore's election was not in doubt there.

[ParanoidPat]

9. The Post Office has been told to deliver all ballots short on postage.....

.....and charge the County that mailed them the postage due. :evilgrin:

It's happening all over the country! :(

Here in Santa Cruz County, California, the ballot return envelopes come postage paid. :)

Here's an article from Arizona about their problems.

Postage snag won't halt mail-in ballots

Connie Sexton
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Not to worry, voters. Even if you didn't provide enough postage, your mail-in ballot will get there.

In Maricopa County, the ballot was designed to weigh no more than 1 ounce, therefore needing only a 37-cent stamp. But more postage has been necessary in some cases. One reason: Voters are unnecessarily returning the instructions with the ballot.

Otherwise, there's no explanation. (Yeah, riiiiight!)

"It's absolutely a mystery to me that this could be a problem," Maricopa County Recorder Karen Osborne said. "The paper's no different. The envelope's no different."

Still, the county has paid $367 in postage due so far.

<More>

And another article from Florida!

Posted on Fri, Oct. 15, 2004

Mailing ballots: 23-cent error

Broward County's absentee ballots come with a return envelope calling for too little postage. Not to worry -- the U.S. Postal Service says it will deliver them anyway.

BY JEANNETTE RIVERA-LYLES

[e-mail]

In the midst of preparing for her first presidential election since being named supervisor of elections, Brenda Snipes must deal with an embarrassing error on absentee ballot envelopes and a new lawsuit.

The three-page, amendment-laden ballot requires 83 cents postage. But the printed amount on the envelope calls for voters to put on only 60 cents.

Gisela Salas, Broward County deputy supervisor of elections, said the department expected a two-page ballot, but the large number of candidates and ballot issues this year generated an additional page.

''We already had the envelopes, so we decided to use them,'' she said.

A leaflet inside the absentee ballot package clarifies the correct postage, but Broward Democratic Party leaders complain that it only adds to the confusion. Many of these ballots, they say, are going to some of the most vulnerable voters -- the elderly and the handicapped -- and some simply won't know which of the two postage amounts is correct. Salas explained that staff was ''meticulous'' about including the instructions for the extra postage in every package.

But Broward Democratic Party Chairman Mitch Caesar said this does not make it less confusing. Voters, he said, are flooding his office with calls questioning the postage.

''This is going to be a razor-thin election,'' Caesar said. ``Any confusion at all can have great consequences.''

The Postal Service says it will deliver the ballots even if the postage is short.

<More>

[Karenina]

10. What's happening across the big pond

is that people are simply NOT receiving their ballots, or upon checking stateside with their Registrars finding that thier apps have been DISCARDED. :mad: