[EL] Oregon SoS Demands that Postal Service Stop Delivering Ballots with Insufficient Postage?

Sat Nov 3 12:27:57 PDT 2012

Not snark, a sincere question: Are they imposing a cost on the voter by doing so?

Ronald Keith Gaddie, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science
Editor, Social Science Quarterly
The University of Oklahoma
455 West Lindsey Street, Room 222
Norman, OK  73019-2001
Phone 405-325-4989
Fax 405-325-0718
E-mail: rkgaddie at ou.edu
http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/G/Ronald.K.Gaddie-1
http://socialsciencequarterly.org
________________________________
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Dan Meek [dan at meek.net]
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2012 1:32 PM
To: David A. Holtzman
Cc: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Oregon SoS Demands that Postal Service Stop Delivering Ballots with Insufficient Postage?

I have since learned that several counties in Oregon have been refusing to accept ballots that arrive at their offices with postage due.

Dan Meek
        503-293-9021    dan at meek.net<mailto:dan at meek.net>       866-926-9646 fax

On 11/3/2012 10:46 AM, David A. Holtzman wrote:
Every chief elections official I've heard from about this
says that his or her office accepts and pays the postage for ballots mailed without postage.
That includes the City Clerk of Burbank, whose city elections are all vote-by-mail, like in Oregon.

In an all vote-by-mail election, wouldn't it actually be unconstitutional to not accept (or not deliver) ballots without postage,
because requiring paid postage would be tantamount to a poll tax?

  - dah
(in Los Angeles)

On 11/3/2012 9:34 AM, Dan Meek wrote:
An interesting issue has arisen in Oregon.

The press has obtained a letter, on United States Postal Service (USPS) letterhead, dated October 31, and apparently written by the Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, refusing the demand of the Oregon Secretary of State that the USPS stop delivering Oregon ballots that have insufficient postage.  See http://indparty.com/postmaster.pdf

According to the letter, the Oregon Secretary of State's Director of Elections told the Postmaster General that delivering these ballots to the county clerks is unconstitutional.

The Independent Party of Oregon has put out a press release denouncing the Oregon Secretary of State's attempt to stop the delivery of these ballots:
http://hosted.comm100.com/Newsletter/Newsletter_EmailWebVersion.aspx?key=9XaAUo92EKHvMpx1q5Pxh%2bGn61DDXup84SI8DspfM%2baip1QlDN80JA%3d%3d&siteId=39553

It notes the experience of Missoula County, MT, which has found there that 0.75% of all mailed ballots have insufficient postage.  See http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/insufficient-postage-an-issue-with-many-montana-ballots-missoula-will/article_f59347b6-1f93-11e2-8d8a-001a4bcf887a.html

Dan Meek
        503-293-9021    dan at meek.net<mailto:dan at meek.net>       866-926-9646 fax

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David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
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