The Wake County Board of Elections began mailing absentee or vote by mail ballots last Friday, October 6, for the November 7 election in which town voters will elect three commissioners to the Wake Forest Town Board. Most Wake Forest absentee voters received their ballots Tuesday.
Wake County’s election board paid $1.83 in postage for the ballots because they are oversize and weigh between 2 and 3 ounces.
Those voters need to be aware they will need to pay $1.59 to mail back their ballots because the envelope is oversize and will weigh between 1 and 2 ounces. Almost all absentee voters do not have stamps for this amount. They will have to use three Forever stamps at a cost of $1.98 or purchase at least four stamps to mail it for $1.59.
Both the board of elections envelope and the return one are slightly larger than standard. The return envelope is 11-3/4″ by 6-1/2″. This is caused by the need to include the voter ID information in a specific way. If the envelope were half an inch smaller, it would cost $0.90 to mail.
Which brings us to the need to include a photo of your ID – NC driver license or the acceptable ID listed in your envelope. If you do not have a copier, you can take your ID to a UPS Store and pay a fee for the copy or, if you belong to a senior center or are near one, go there and ask to use its copier.
Make sure your return ballot envelope is dated three days before Election Day.
Some states mail ballots to all the registered voters for all elections and report increased voter participation.
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