Uh-oh- Absentees may need extra postage

[freeplessinseattle]

email from a friend today:

"So I filled out my absentee ballot over the weekend, sealed, signed, and "affixed first class postage" of 42c. Took to PO to be sure it was proper, and learned that because of the "irregular" size of the envelope, it takes 59c, not 42c.

Freaking out at the prospect of millions of absentee ballots getting bounced for insufficient postage. Talk me down, please."

[crankychatter]

1. I'm in Federal Way voting absentee in Snohomish... haven't sent mine off yet

good grief... you mean absentee ballots, dropped in the mail box will be RETURNED UNCOUNTED?

Holy crap... seriously? Gregoire or the SoS need to get ON THIS NOW, unless she just HATES being Governor

[msallied]

I hope Sam Reed gets kicked out on his ass.

I didn't have my ballot when I checked my mail on Friday. Was out of town this weekend, so I'm checking it in a few. I hope it's in there today.

[crankychatter]

11. that email's fraudulent... or there's a postal clerk somewhere that doesn't know the job

one first class stamp is all that's required

[Retrograde]

23. it depends on the state and county

states differ widely in the number of issues on their ballots this election. My California ballot took both sides of two large sheets - that's for pres/vp, congress, 2 state offices (all offices had multiple candidates), a bunch of judgeships, 11 state propositions, 4 county and 1 local one. All that required $.59 postage.


Your state may be different.


ETA: actually, it can also vary by county within the same state: my state used to have different voting methods in different adjacent counties.

[Connie_Corleone]

2. In Ohio, there are instructions that come with the ballot that states 59 cents postage

I put 2 stamps on mine.

If there are instructions with the ballot (I don't know if all states do this), then people need to read the instructions carefully.

[napi21]

3. I put 2 First Class stamps on ours here in Ga. I figured it was

pretty close to the max weight, but it was a bit thinker than a normal envelope, and I knew from mailing other things that if an envelope doesn't automatically feed through the auto equipment at the PO, they charge additional postage for hand sorting. I just wasn't about to take any chances, and it was cheaper for me to put 2 stamps on each envelope than take a chance on it getting either returned to me or rejected.

[Overseas]

4. Can't talk you down because Republicans use every method they can think of

to reduce the number of Democratic votes counted.

I would not be surprised if the likes of Steve Schmidt cooked this up.

If you have ten million more registered Dems than Repubs, you've gotta make sure less Dems can vote.

Here are a few of the methods Republicans have tried.

Challenge voter registrations at the polls to slow down the lines and force people to give up after waiting in line for hours, as in Ohio 2004.

Rig some machines to flip votes from Dem to Repub. So strange that anomalies between exit polling and vote counts always seemed to favor Republicans in 2004.

Get as many people as possible to use provisional ballots that can be set aside to be counted last, if needed. And just decide they're not needed. If the Secretary of State is Republican in that area.

Do robocalls and robofliers to misdirect voters to go to the polls on the wrong days or to the wrong polling places.

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. I didn't take any chances. Dropped mine off in an official drop box.

Don't know if they have those up in King County/Seattle. I would hope so. Thurston County has several of them.

If this is an issue for the Post Office though, they should do the decent thing and issue a press release. They don't gain anything by piling up thousands of "undeliverable" ballots.

[LisaM]

6. Don't blame Gregoire. Ballots are sent out by the counties.

Call your county election HQ.

Oh, and by the way, IMHO, postage for voting should be free. I don't think it should cost you money to vote and this is one of the reasons I am against going to all-mail balloting.

[freeplessinseattle]

9. if anyone, I blame Rossi's cronies!

why on earth can't the postage amt. be noted right where the stamp is? as another poster noted the OH ballots have postage noted in the instructions, but how many people read them? my friend is a smart guy and has voted for several decades (I guess usually poll) so I'm sure there are many others who will be unaware. I'm going to contact the news stations and hopefully they'll help clue people in.

[liberalmuse]

7. Aw shit...

I was going to call my daughter about this, but thought I was being paranoid. I think she's taking it down in person, anyway, but I'll call to make sure. Thanks for the info! I couldn't get a hold of King County Elections (busy), so I emailed them. I'll post back here when I get a response. I basically asked them about postage costs, and if any ballots would be returned for non-sufficient postage.

[crankychatter]

12. your ballot will be fine... I just called them... they are aware of this - the email is false

one first class stamp

[freeplessinseattle]

13. pardon me??

no fraudulent emails going on here-I've been friends with this gent for nearly 10 years and he's a true blue dem.

I do remember something like this being an issue before, and another poster noted that her absentee also required addt'l postage. Billy Quong say mind your manners;)

[crankychatter]

15. Secretary of State and County Board of Elections just verified one first class stamp is all u need

the email is false

OR, a postal clerk has BAD INFORMATION

in either case, I just got off the phone with these state and county offices, because if your posting is evidence of a fact, it's a fact that could jeopardize the election

fortunately you're completely wrong and possibly, you know it, since your manner is now bellicose

This is an alarmist post and it's false

period

manners?

OUR VOTE IS AT STAKE

you should confirm the facts before you get people afraid

[RollWithIt]

8. Florida Absentee Ballots are 2 oz Flat size, need $1.00

If anyone was wondering.

[crankychatter]

10. Not true. One first class stamp... that's true statewide... just verified by phone with SoS and

Snohomish County Elections

The elections office is aware of this email and it is a fake

Further... the outside of the return envelope states unequivocally

"POSTMASTER: OFFICIAL BALLOT - DO NOT DELAY"

Even if it arrived postage due, it would NOT be returned

but postage will NOT be due if there's a first class stamp on it.

[freeplessinseattle]

14. geez louise, get some manners will ya?

why do you keep accusing me of posting a fake email? could the clerk have been new or a repug trying to mess with him? (my longtime friend does wear pins advertising his affiliation).

I've met a number of duers here who can verify my authenticity, and there may very well be other states that do require addt'l postage, as noted by another poster in this thread.

[crankychatter]

16. this is an alarmist post and it's wrong.. get the facts and post THOSE NT

[grantcart]

17. actually Republicans can mail in their ballot without any stamps at all

[LiberalFighter]

20. Only if they leave the ballot out.

[crankychatter]

18. my posts in this thread pertain to Washington State ONLY - nt

[Debi]

19. In Iowa the return envelope is postage pre-paid n/t

[izzybeans]

21. .

http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/Pages/VotebyMailFAQ.aspx

snip-
Most mail ballots are designed to only require a standard first class stamp. If the returning materials are expected to need extra postage, your County Auditor will indicate so in the instructions accompanying the ballot.

[suffragette]

22. I think it's good that you posted that since it will give you the opportunity

discuss it with the postal worker.

Here's a FAQ from the Secretary of State's website:
http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/Pages/VotebyMailFAQ.aspx

Found the following on that page:

How much postage is required to mail my ballot back?
Most mail ballots are designed to only require a standard first class stamp. If the returning materials are expected to need extra postage, your County Auditor will indicate so in the instructions accompanying the ballot.

The following page on King County's website specifies and shows "a first class stamp"
http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/absentee/howto/step7.asp


Additionally, I just called King County Elections at 206.296.8683 and spoke to a staffer there who verified that the current KC ballot only requires one 1st class (42 cent) stamp.

Since the postal worker is a friend of yours who wants to do this correctly, I think you'll be doing a great service if you can share this info with him to ensure he will now process these properly and will let his fellow workers know this info, too. Otherwise, I would recommend contacting his supervisor and reporting this to King Count and the WA SOS.