[EL] Postage Question

[Paul Gronke]

Keith

Absolutely not.  I am not sure how many states actually allow this.

This creates a fairly serious hitch in the election administration workflow.

Just work through in your head what is being proposed: voters can drop off absentee ballots at a polling place. Where do those ballots go?  Do we maintain secure ballot drop boxes at every polling place?

Ok suppose we do that. Now, when do those envelopes (not ballots) get processed?  When are signatures checked?  For states with voter intent provisions, how are the ballots “remade”?  

And finally, when are the ballot counted?

In California, over a million absentee ballots are dropped off at precinct places on election day.  The California clerks have very good procedures for dealing with these, but if you are going to allow this, you must also be willing to wait for election results.  Most counties that I am aware of don’t even begin to process those absentee ballots until they open for business on Wednesday. 

---
Paul Gronke
Professor, Reed College
Director, Early Voting Information Center
http://earlyvoting.net

General Inquiries: Laura Swann swannla at reed.edu

Media Inquiries: Kevin Myers myersk at reed.edu

Other email:  paul.gronke at reed.edu

> On Nov 1, 2016, at 12:13 PM, Gaddie, Ronald K. <rkgaddie at ou.edu> wrote:
> 
> Understood. Does the ability to drop at any polling place in a state hold across all states?
> 
> Ronald Keith Gaddie, Ph.D.
> President's Associates Presidential Professor
> Chair, Department of Political Science
> Senior Fellow, Headington College
> Associate Director, Center for Intelligence & National Security
> General Editor, Social Science Quarterly
> The University of Oklahoma
> 
> p: 405.325.2061  | e: rkgaddie at ou.edu <mailto:rkgaddie at ou.edu>  | t: @GaddieWindage <https://twitter.com/gaddiewindage>
> 
> 
> From: Richard Winger <richardwinger at yahoo.com <mailto:richardwinger at yahoo.com>>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2016 2:09 PM
> To: Gaddie, Ronald K.; Election Law
> Subject: Re: [EL] Postage Question
>  
> because the voter is free to drop it off at any polling place or voting center on election day.  The postage is not a requirement for returning the voted ballot.
>  
> Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147
> 
> 
> From: "Gaddie, Ronald K." <rkgaddie at ou.edu <mailto:rkgaddie at ou.edu>>
> To: Election Law <Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>> 
> Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2016 11:19 AM
> Subject: [EL] Postage Question
> 
> Query: A former student, who is a lawyer and a Ph.D. candidate, wrote and asks "how is paying postage on an absentee ballot not a poll tax?"
> 
> Any knowledgable answers are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Ronald Keith Gaddie, Ph.D.
> President's Associates Presidential Professor
> Chair, Department of Political Science
> Senior Fellow, Headington College
> Associate Director, Center for Intelligence & National Security
> General Editor, Social Science Quarterly
> The University of Oklahoma
> 
> p: 405.325.2061  | e: rkgaddie at ou.edu <mailto:rkgaddie at ou.edu>  | t: @GaddieWindage <https://twitter.com/gaddiewindage>
> 
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