A Massachusetts Absentee Ballot Envelope requires how much postage?

By stevegarfield on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 7:25am

It's not easy finding out how much postage a Massachusetts Abentee Ballot requires.

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2008 elections

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Comments

I would think that the

By ShadyMilkMan on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 9:51am.

I would think that the Federal goverment could give absentee ballots a free pass in the postal system, I mean seriously. John Kerry can send my uncle a letter and a "signed" picture of himself for free, but people voting by absentee ballot have to pay postage to vote? Doesnt make sense.

That doesn't really work for

By lynn on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 10:36am.

That doesn't really work for people sending in their ballots from overseas however.

Vote By Mail Postage

By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 10:39am.

The feds control the mail, the states control the elections. One might think that it would be free, but that would mean endorsing the vote-by-mail scheme that the current administration despises with great passion.

I once asked my dad about the postage thing, as he always votes by mail because that's how everybody votes in Oregon. He said they have collection boxes for ballots at the post office, so you don't have to use postage unless you want the convenience of having a letter carrier pick it up.

He mailed his primary ballot from MA, as he was out for a visit and had mixed it in with the bills he needed to send out, and this required a stamp.

The Post Office has a Scale

By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 10:34am.

That doesn't excuse their inability to put the amount needed for a fixed-weight item on the item.

Then again, this is clearly an improvement over past years as the ballot actually exists and arrived in time to use it. From what I saw in earlier times, a Mass resident used to have to convince their hometown that they needed a ballot each and every time they wanted to vote. They would then have the clerk send them a letter that essentially read "we don't do that because we don't think that anybody ever leaving town for any reason deserves to vote bwhahahahah" a day before the election. (I also saw this happen to people from New York and PA who rowed crew with me). I lent my car out more than once so people could drive to their hometowns to vote. I was puzzled by this because my ballots came from Oregon in the mail like clockwork. I filed a single-page form a single time with my county detailing the dates I would be at college. No hassle there.

I have voted absentee in Medford in recent years and it wasn't difficult to do so in person. It was tricky to get the info on how to do it though. I couldn't tell you what was required to get a ballot sent ahead of time, but there appears to be a procedure beyond "whim o' the clerk" at least.

Franking privilege

By Neal on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 11:01am.

is used by Congressfolks, Presidents as well as people in the military on duty during wartime (my boss, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves, would frank letters sent while he was on duty in Iraq a few years back by signing "no postage" where the stamp would go). It would make sense for this privilege be extended to people voting by mail.

More info on franking here.