How much does the ballot really cost to mail?
By Laura RillosEUGENE, Ore.--With 12 state ballot measures and several local tax measures on the ballot, you might have noticed your ballot is a little longer and heavier than usual. Lane County officials say the bigger size means more postage--59 cents, to be exact--is required to mail your ballot this year. That's causing confusion among some voters who didn't read that on their ballot before mailing theirs off. So far, the county says no ballots have been returned for insufficient postage--and none should be in the future. On Wednesday, the County Board of Commissioners voted to cover the extra postage for any ballots with 42 cent stamps. Complicating the issue, many voters have told KVAL they've taken their ballots to the post office to get weighed--and their ballots weigh in at one ounce. At that weight, the ballots would need a 42 cent stamp. Using scales at the post office, KVAL weighed a ballot from a Springfield voter and a ballot from a Eugene voter. Each weighed in at a cost of 42 cents. However--when KVAL weighed the ballots again, the Eugene ballot weighed in at 1.1 ounces. At that weight, the ballot would require 59 cents of postage. So to be safe, all voters should use 59 cents of postage to mail their ballots. If you already mailed your ballot with a 42 cent stamp, county officials will cover the extra seventeen cents. But they still want you to use correct postage. "Please do put 42 cents because taxpayers are paying for it, regardless," said Annette Newingham, with Lane County Elections. "And they are required to put the full postage on it, but we are not going to return it for insufficient postage." However, if your ballot is returned for insufficient postage, State Representative Chris Edwards (D-West Eugene) would like you to contact him: laneballotreturn@gmail.com He is tracking the issue. |
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