FYI--California absentee ballots need TWO postage stamps.

[fooj]

Just wanted to pass the info along...

Please let all of your friends and neighbors know. I checked at the Post Office and the exact price to mail is 63 cents.

Rat bastards.

[flamingyouth]

1. So do ours (King County, Wash.) n/t

[pooja]

2. Certify it to ensure it reaches destination.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

3. I'm Sorry, But 30 Cents Makes You That Angry?

I would think that voting is far more important than an additional 30 cents. This is some pretty silly outrage in my opinion.

[annabanana]

4. If the ballots are sent out with just a plain

box for "attach postage here". . and the fact that TWO stamps are required isn't CLEARLY AND DISTINCTLY EMPHASIZED... a tremendous number of people will just assume that one stamp will do the job... and be disenfranchised.

It's a legitimate concern.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

10. Oh The Drama. Give Me A Break.

First of all, I've read in several places that people have been notified.

Second of all, any time I mail anything I have a pretty good idea when it gets questionable as to whether one stamp will cut it. When in doubt, attach another one.

Third of all, with something as important as voting, maybe it's the responsible thing to do to go to a post office to begin with to ensure it gets mailed correctly: After all, it's voting. Pretty important stuff. Maybe it would be the right thing to do to hand it directly to a post office to begin with.

Lastly, I don't think it's disenfranchisement at all. If someone wasn't responsible enough to deduce it might need more than one stamp, then within a day or two it would be back in their mailbox anyway. Attach another stamp and send it again. With something as important as voting, the sender hopefully is responsible enough to not wait till the last day possible anyway, and would have time to resend it. If they did wait till the last day, then hopefully they would've been responsible enough to go directly to the post office to begin with, to avoid any risk.

We seriously need to take voting a little more seriously in this country. If a heavy ballot can cause serious implications in the integrity of an election, as you are hinting at, because voters are too lazy to put due diligence into something as important as making sure their vote is mailed correctly, than we have all sorts of issues.

[Stargleamer]

15. I've been putting one stamp on my Absentee Ballof for years. . .

are you telling me my votes for Democrats were never counted?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. No. I Haven't Said That Anywhere.

In fact, I have no idea how the heck you surmised that I had.

[fooj]

26. Any links as to where people have been notified?

Doesn't say shit anywhere on the ballot or on any of the materials sent out before the ballot.

[fooj]

27. Uh. No. Actually, the post office DOES NOT RETURN

ballots with less postage than required. Like I said...it's about FACTS.

[Seedersandleechers]

5. I'm thinking that possibly people are unaware of the two stamp

requirement and will place only one stamp.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. Well Then Those People Need To Take Elections More Seriously.

That's my opinion on it. If someone is to vote, I would hope that they are at least intelligent enough to know how mailing something works, and that when an envelope's contents are just a little bit thick it means it may require additional postage. In this case, it's probably obvious that additional postage might be required, so I'd hope the sender took elections seriously enough to confirm.

[fooj]

25. You don't live in California. This isn't your battle.

Guess what? This is the FIRST TIME that absentee ballots need extra postage in California. It's not hard to imagine people who DO TAKE ELECTIONS SERIOUSLY not thinking about extra postage. "Probably obvious" ??? No one is creating any drama here except for you. It's all about facts. FACT: ABSENTEE BALLOTS NEED EXTRA POSTAGE.

I was unaware that I needed your approval before I posted this ...

[Justice Is Comin]

34. Except if you're in Arizona.

Postage paid by addressee

[BlooInBloo]

6. Looking to manufacture outrage... *why* is beyond me....

... when there's so much *real* election fraud against latinos down in Cali (and elsewhere), black folks in all the traditional spots (and elsewhere)...

Oh wait, maybe now I understand why a person would want to manufacture outrage... lol!

[lies and propaganda]

31. are you still asleep?

this matters because most people will just put one stamp on it and its JUST ONE MORE WAY for those fucks to rob us of our votes.

Manufacture outrage? Your post did just that to me.

:edited for angry spelling:

[Stardust]

14. It's NOT the 30 cents that angers me, it's the fact that they don't

bother warning us that it DOES require extra postage. The ballot does not appear to be overweight or oversize. And why isn't it postage-paid, anyway? We spend $2B a week in Iraq but can't prepay postage on absentee ballots? It's not the 30 cents, it's the ineptitude, OMC.

[cally]

20. Don't be an idiot...having your ballot returned after Nov. 7 for

insufficient postage is a problem. Just anothe step in making it difficult to vote. I've always added one stamp and there is nothing on the ballot to indicate it's changed. You may be so self righteous that you have time to go to the post office and weigh every item you mail. Most of us don't have that kink of time or inclination to worry that our ballots will not be mailed. If you can't be outraged by the new hurdles for voting, then say goodbye to democracy.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

21. Don't Mail It So Late Then.

Like I said, when it comes to something as important as voting, I would think being responsible enough to ensure there's enough postage is not too much to ask. In fact, any time I mail ANYTHING of even the slightest importance that is thicker than a piece of paper, I ALWAYS add an additional stamp just in case. I'll repeat, if not being able to figure out appropriate postage can impede our election process, than we have all sorts of issues. Furthermore, on every county/state election site I've seen in regards to absentee ballots, they declare that you should make sure you put the appropriate postage on it. I'm sure there are instructions with the ballot itself that further reminds you to add proper postage. Proper postage does not mean one stamp. It means whatever the correct postage is. I'll agree that if it now requires 2 stamps it would be nice if they made that clear, and I know CA is running around frantically right now to mail out as many notices as they can that this is the case, but I still think a responsible voter would make sure they had enough postage anyway. I don't consider that to be too much to ask.

Me? I'm far more worried about Diebold than I am about whether or not a voter cares enough to use due diligence in assuring they have the proper postage.

[fooj]

24. Huh? Who gives a shit about 30 cents? That's not my point.

No outrage about the additional postage. Outrage over the FACT that the 3.8 million absentee ballots in California need extra postage to be COUNTED. It's as simple as that.

[WinkyDink]

33. No, it's the point that some, maybe many, might not know this. IMO.

[goddess40]

7. Isn't postage included?

It seems to me that here in Wisconsin the postage is included- last year our county "forgot" to put the address on the envelopes.

[shanti]

22. nope n/t

[Mabus]

8. Thankfully our ballot envelopes have the proper postage needed

to mail it back printed right on the envelope.

I don't know if it is the same way all over Kansas but it is true here in our county. Of course, we elected a Democratic County Clerk back in 2004 (along with a whole slew of other Dems).

[skids]

9. K&R -- thanks for the warning. n/t

[NV Whino]

12. Check with your local post office

I did, and they said one was enough. Even though the ballot is oversized, California honors one first class postage stamp.

[fooj]

29. Really? I went to the PO and they told me 63 cents.

Perhaps it varies in districts?

[NV Whino]

32. I think you may be right

The number of local measures on the ballot may make it longer and therefore heavier in some districts. The interesting thing is the envelope is oversized and should require more postage just for that, but California seems to honor a single stamp for oversized ballots. As well, they should, I say.

[kma3346]

13. Thanks for the warning

I probably would have put one stamp on it. I wonder how many will be returned to the sender....

[helderheid]

17. I put 5 on my utah one

[mulsh]

18. Check with your County Registrar of Voters.

Here in Alameda County our registrar was on local news last week explaining that yes the ballots "are slightly over one ounce and need extra postage. But if you only use one stamp the Registrar's office will pay for the difference"

My wife & I will be using extra stamps. Also many counties have places where you can drop off your absentee ballots, no postage due.

[cally]

19. This could be a election fiasco

Ignore the crazies above who are discounting this, but we may have many ballots uncounted. I've always put one stamp on mine and I tend to mail my ballot late. So, if I didn't know it takes two stamps, then my ballot will be returned after the deadline. One more way to disenfranchise the voter. It's not the extra 30 cents although to far too many that matters, it's all about making it harder to vote.

[Nikia]

23. What's worse is when I received my absentee ballot the day before election

For my first general election in 1996. I was registered to vote in Ohio and applied for an absentee ballot before going off to college out of state. Since I had never voted absentee, I had no idea when to expect my ballot. It arrived the day before the election. I noticed in the instructions that came with it that it would be invalid if recieved after the evening of the election. As a result, I immediately filled it out, got someone to take me to the post office (I had no transportation, and paid over twenty dollars for overnight delivery (which was a financial hardship for me being a poor student. I was so upset about the whole incident, whether accidental or intentional, that I didn't vote until after I graduated from college and had a permanent residence.
Although voting is an individual's responsibility, they should not make it hard on people.

[Disturbed]

30. The point is that there is confusion about postage.

There should not be any confusion about how much postage is required. The instructions should be simple and clear.

Should there be a day off for Voting? Employers could ask for Voting stubs the next day to verify people that had a day off actually voted. If they can't provide a stub then they recieve no day off pay. Just a suggestion.

[Cleita]

28. Thanks for the heads up. I was going to put two stamps on

it anyway for insurance. I hope other people see this. Spread the word.