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

Dan Meek dan at meek.net
Sat Nov 3 14:57:54 PDT 2012


They can deliver it, but in rural areas that requires traveling as far 
as 80 miles to find a ballot drop point.


Dan Meek

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



On 11/3/2012 12:32 PM, Scarberry, Mark wrote:

Are voters in Oregon permitted to deliver their ballots in person to a 
public office? If not, then perhaps there is a substantial question here.

Mark S. Scarberry

Professor of Law

Pepperdine Univ. School of Law

*From:*law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu 
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] *On Behalf Of 
*Gaddie, Ronald K.
*Sent:* Saturday, November 03, 2012 12:28 PM
*To:* Dan Meek; 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?

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 <mailto: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 
<mailto: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 
<mailto: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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