Ballot Postage Questions Could Cost Thousands of Florida Absentee Votes

As Yogi might say, "It's "déjà vu all over again." It seems there may be a problem with mailing in absentee ballots in Miami-Dade, Florida.

The problem is not with the ballot itself, but the mailing in process. The envelopes are confusing. It looks like they may not require postage, there is a printed insignia "Official Election Mail --- authorized by the US Post Office." But apparently, this is not a post-free envelope, but in fact requires two first class stamps totaling eighty-four cents. And the instruction booklet that comes with the ballot unhelpfully reads "Be sure there is sufficient postage if multiple pages or if mailed from outside the United States." But nowhere is it clearly stated that postage is needed to mail the envelope within the United States nor is any amount given. When I asked a Board of Elections helper (reached by phone) about this, she sighed and told me they were getting a lot of confused phone calls about the postage issue --- free or not free? And when I asked her what happens to ballots mailed without postage --- "I don't know" was the chilling reply.

Do other absentee ballots around the country share a similar problem with the mailing process? I don't know, but in Miami, Dade, it's a problem and one the Obama campaign is aware of.

This is not a minor issue, in a state where 500 votes determined the election in 2000, and where elderly voters in Miami-Dade favor Obama in significant numbers. I was helping my elderly mom fill out the ballot when I discovered the problem. A life-long Democrat, she was celebrating her 93rd Birthday on the day we filled out the ballot and reminisced "I can still remember the thrill we had when Franklin D. Roosevelt, my idol, declared a bank holiday and made a speech that gave us hope!" My Jewish mother had no doubts that this was the time again when we needed similar leadership and she emphatically marked her ballot next to the "Obama-Biden" spot (second from the top).

Comments

[ephr]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/735874.html
This clarifies the issue and it looks like it won't be an issue, since it is a crime for the post office not to deliver the absentee ballots, the US postal service will deliver absentee ballots no matter what postage is on it.

[ephr]

When I first saw the election instructions I thought the same thing -- that it looked like it was free since it said official election mail and I would bet a lot of people just assumed it was free also and mailed it without putting postage.

I do not remember this being an issue for me when I voted absentee in 2004 (maybe you can find the ballot material from 2004 and compare). This election I did actually get my ballot early this time rather than the Friday before the election, so I thank Miami-Dade county for that.

Thanks for the article.

[susie1776]

In California, I just sent in my absentee ballot. In the envelope was a separate piece of paper which said simply "This ballot requires $.59 postage." Easy to understand. No confusion. And it didn't take a genius to figure out how to get the information across.

[MarryAnn]

Just have the USPS send them on through. Charge the state or county. The whole idea is to honor each person's right to vote and to be as inclusive as possible.

[ChrisCann]

The USPS should not send back any absentee ballots. even if they do have the proper postage. they all should be sent through. normally i say hell no to something like this. yet if it is a case of confusing directions i do no think that should be a reaso a vote gets sent back. secondly as you all know the USPS is not the fastest. so people may not know their ballot wasn't cast or sent back to after the election. then what? you would think that after 2000 these problems would not happen.

[Dystopic]

There should be a national group that builds the ballots, absentee and otherwise. There are election standards, why are there not ballot standards.

Elections should be federalized and standardized.

http://www.openvotingconsortium.org

Open Free and Verifiable

[TheSecularist]

Title of new book: What's the Matter with Florida? with subtitle: (Butterfly ballots, hanging chads, missing votes, and missing postage).