Federal judge weighs if state's mail-in ballot stamp requirement is poll tax

[TexasTowelie]

A federal judge wants the Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office to provide more information about its absentee ballot system that’s the focus of a lawsuit that says requiring voters to pay for postage to mail in absentee ballots amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg’s request came at the end of Friday’s four-and-half hour preliminary injunction hearing over the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia’s claims that requiring voters to pay for a 55-cent stamp amounts to a poll tax. The ACLU wants the state to cover mail-in ballot postage costs for the June 9 general primary and its legal director said Friday it wants the practice followed in future elections as well.

Totenberg said Friday that her decision could also apply to elections scheduled for August and November.

She did not immediately rule Friday after questioning the feasibility of making changes in time for June’s election.

Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/brief/federal-judge-weighs-if-states-mail-in-ballot-stamp-requirement-is-poll-tax/

[Chainfire]

1. jeeeezzz

Send the ballots with return postage paid like all of the damn insurance offers I get. This vote by mail stuff ain't rocket science. It is not the mechanics that are hard, it is the desire to make it work.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. This is almost akin to paying the utilities at where the polling booths are located at, or ...

paying the property taxes of the buildings used for polling places, that is, there are normal fees needed to maintain any polling place, aren't there?

Surely there's got to be a limit in what constitutes a polling tax. The ACLU must have had other reasons to contest the stamp cost?

[SeattleVet]

3. We went through this in Washington a few years ago.

It turns out that the USPS policy is to deliver mailed ballots, even without postage (they keep track and bill the counties).

In WA we have eliminated the need for a stamp - just drop the completed ballot in the proper envelope in the mailbox, or one of several ballot dropboxes around the state.

Here's an article from the time that they were talking about it a few years ago:

https://www.kuow.org/stories/no-you-dont-need-stamp-your-ballot