July 3, 2008 - Mail-in ballots miss on postage // VOTING : Inland counties make up the difference. Their growing popularity could prove costly

Paper: Press-Enterprise, The ( Riverside, CA)
Title: Mail-in ballots miss on postage // VOTING : Inland counties make up the difference. Their growing popularity could prove costly
Date: July 3, 2008
Author: JULIA GLICK, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Thousands of mail-in ballots came up short on postage in the June election , but Riverside and San Bernardino counties picked up the tab to ensure all votes, even those of the absent-minded, could be counted.

Most counties in the state have quietly paid outstanding postage for years, but election officials say the practice has become more crucial and costs many more pennies as voting by mail has grown in popularity.

"It's so the post office doesn't send a ballot back and say, `Sorry you'll need 17 more cents,' because then it won't get back to us on time," said Riverside County's Assistant Registrar Doug Kinzle.

"We just want to count every vote."

Expected high turnout for the November presidential race and a push for more mail-in voting could mean a deluge of ballots with insufficient postage, registrars for both counties said.

Voter turnout for June's state primary election was low, slightly more than 20percent, in both counties. But the Riverside County registrar's office says it paid more than $600 to cover for about 3,000 voters. In San Bernardino County, about 4,000 mail-in ballots lacked proper postage, costing the registrar's office about $550, said Registrar Kari Verjil.

Some voters forgot about May's one-cent postal rate increase, despite reminders included with ballots in both counties. Others neglected to add 17 more cents for ballots weighing more than one ounce, and with others, it is hard to say.

A few thousand votes can easily swing the outcome of an election, so it is worth hundreds of dollars to see that those ballots are counted, election officials say. But they emphasize that registrars pay postage as a backstop and the process is not perfect.

Postal workers have made mistakes and returned ballots to senders, said Stephen L. Weir, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. Insufficient postage can delay a ballot and it might not get through on time to be counted.

"We have kept it relatively quiet for those reasons," said Weir, registrar for Contra Costa County.

"It is our great hope that voters don't get the impression they can frivolously neglect to put postage on a ballot because, heck, they can save 40 or 50 cents on it."

The U.S. Postal Service posts notice in offices and reminds employees before each election never to return ballots to the sender, said Mike Cannone, a regional spokesman for the postal service.

The number of propositions for November make a heavier two-card ballot likely, Kinzle said. He said the registrar's office will again notify voters with their ballots that they will need to pay adequate postage.

Edition: ALL ZONES
Section: LOCAL PLUS
Page: D01
Record Number: 836843
Copyright (c) 2008 The Press-Enterprise Co.