Voting by mail appears to be popular again this election cycle. Hamilton County is reporting more than 65,000 requests for absentee ballots, according to the deputy director of elections. Alex Linser says that's about on par with 2018, the last mid-term election, which was a record-breaker. Linser says it will cost more to send these ballots in, though.
“Due to the weight of the ballots this year — it’s a two-page ballot in every precinct in Hamilton County — it takes $0.84 to mail your ballot back to the Board of Elections,” he says. “So, if you’re using Forever stamps, that’s two stamps.”
Linser says if you already mailed it with only one stamp, don't worry. “It is the policy of the U.S. Postal Service to still deliver ballots if they have insufficient postage,” he says.
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“So, ballots with insufficient postage should not be returned to the voter; however, we encourage everyone not to leave it to chance and to make sure you’re putting two stamps on your ballot before you send it back.”
Linser says if you're still not sure, you can always use the 24-hour drop box at the Board of Elections office in Norwood. He says the Board has a feature on the website where voters can check the status of their ballots.
Nov. 5 is the last day the Board of Elections can accept a request for an absentee ballot. Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 7 to be counted.
