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  • 2016-10-21 (xsd:date)
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  • Do Mail-In Ballots Require Extra Postage? (ca)
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  • Early voters taking advantage of vote-by-mail provisions (where available) began sending in their general election ballots in October 2016, and social media rumors began circulating holding that mailed ballots were subject to being invalidated or returned to sender due to insufficient postage. Confusion among mail voters was rife, and a contributing factor to that confusion was inconsistency of ballot size and postage requirements across states, counties, and even towns: Some of the ambiguity was driven by a widely-circulated article from San Diego station KMFB titled simply Many voters don't know you need two stamps for mail-in ballots, an article that didn't inform readers which voters that information applied to: An embedded video revealed that the reporting pertained only to voters San Diego County, not necessarily to voters in other California counties or elsewhere in the U.S., and that votes with insufficient postage would still be counted. Television station WCMH in Columbus, Ohio, also attempted to notify voters of inaccurate instructions provided about postage for mail-in ballots: In that instance, too, elections officials stressed that insufficient postage would not prevent the counting of any votes: Voters in California's San Joaquin County were also advised that their lengthy ballots would need additional postage but would be delivered regardless. Cincinnati station WCPO reported on ballot postage confusion in Ohio due to the fact that ballot sizes (and therefore postage requirements) vary from county to county, even though all use the same outer mailing envelope: Colorado voters were similarly warned to ensure their ballots were mailed with sufficient postage, but it was not clear if election officials had arranged for ballots with insufficient postage to be received: Many voters were of the belief postage ought not be required for submission of ballots by mail: In March 2016, an uptick in voting by mail led to new USPS guidelines (not rules) for best practices with respect to election mailings, and that guidance [PDF] advised officials of an increase in returned ballots and suggested they make arrangements with Postal Service officials to handle ballots lacking proper postage: The Bipartisan Policy Center reiterated USPS' stance on ballots with insufficient postage, but those recommendations are not binding [PDF]: Depending on the jurisdiction, mailed-in ballots may require more than a single first-class postage stamp, and ballots lacking proper postage may or may not be delivered to election officials for counting. Voters unsure of postage requirements for their mail-in ballots should check with their local election board or post office to ensure proper delivery. Beginning in 2019, all California vote-by-mail ballots became prepaid, with voters no longer needing to apply their own postage. California Assembly Bill No. 216 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on 18 July 2018, amending Section 3010 of the state's Elections Code. (en)
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