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

[Salvador Peralta]

The Oregonian's most recent coverage notes that:


"Tim Scott, the Multnomah County elections director, said his county has 
long refused to accept ballots that didn't have enough postage.  It's 
inconsistent with state law and gives voters a mixed message about 
whether they should put postage on their return ballots."

http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2012/11/charges_fly_in_oregon_secretar.html



________________________________
 From: "Scarberry, Mark" <Mark.Scarberry at pepperdine.edu>
To: Doug Hess <douglasrhess at gmail.com>; Dan Meek <dan at meek.net> 
Cc: Election Law <Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu> 
Sent: Saturday, November 3, 2012 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [EL] Oregon SoS Demands that Postal Service Stop Delivering Ballots with Insufficient Postage?
 

If a ballot envelope comes in postage due, then the clerk may need to pay the postage in order actually to receive the envelope from the postal worker. I haven’t gotten anything postage due in quite a while, but I don’t think you can just take the letter or package and then refuse to pay the postage due amount. It may not be a matter of the clerk refusing to receive the ballot but instead of the postal worker refusing to deliver it.
 
From:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Doug Hess
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2012 3:22 PM
To: Dan Meek
Cc: Election Law
Subject: Re: [EL] Oregon SoS Demands that Postal Service Stop Delivering Ballots with Insufficient Postage?
 
"Not accepting" as in refusing to receive them, however that is done, or as in destroying or tossing them? Or "not accepting" to mean they accept them but plan to not count them? 

Douglas R. Hess, PhD


On Sat, Nov 3, 2012 at 5:59 PM, Dan Meek <dan at meek.net> wrote:
We know that some county clerks are currently not accepting the ballots postage due.
Dan Meek 503-293-9021  dan at meek.net 866-926-9646 fax  
 
On 11/3/2012 12:50 PM, Doug Hess wrote:
In the letter on this issue the Post Master General (should we call him General, too?) points out that the state doesn't have to accept or count ballots arriving without sufficient postage (see second to last paragraph in letter in link below). 
 
Not sure why he felt that was an area he needs to opine on! But it does raise the possibility that some county clerks, or whomever, won't count these ballots, now that they know that the USP will keep delivering them. Anybody sense a county might do that? 
 
Where's Paul Gronke when you need him? 
 
http://indparty.com/postmaster.pdf 

Douglas R. Hess, PhD
Washington, DC
ph. 202-277-6400
douglasrhess at gmail.com  
 
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