We have to pay to vote by mail?

A Bad Deal for Cuyahoga County Voters 2

I received my absentee ballot last week, and found that for the first time I have to pay to mail the ballot back with my 64 cent stamp.  Was this part of the deal that Fitzgerald struck with Husted over not sending out absentee ballot request forms?   We have already expressed how this was a bad deal for the Cuyahoga County voter, but it gets worse.  We save money if a person votes by mail over going to a polling place and voting on election day. Why can't we pay to get a voter to return their absentee ballot?  I know that the post office charges around $1.20 for postage paid mail, but that is cheaper than employing a poll worker for 16 hours and all the processing and transportation of those ballots.  It is better for voters to vote by mail over standing in a long line at the polling place or feeling that their government is broken by witnessing polling places opening late or poll workers not understanding provisional ballots.  We believe that any barriers to voting should be minimized in order to encourage the other half of the population to actually participate.  Going out and finding a 64 cent stamp or wasting two stamps on a ballot is a barrier for the fringe voters.  Help people vote with free return of the ballot to the board of elections.

Brian Davis
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