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Mail Ballot Elections — How Many Glitches Does It Take To Make A Real Problem?

November 1, 2007

1,100 mail ballots forwarded in Douglas County, Colorado

Based on article by Joey Bunch, The Denver Post

October 31, 2007 — In one of those little "glitches" so common to mail ballot elections, which election officials hope we'll overlook, a vendor in charge of mass mailings forwarded about 1,100 of the 108,876 Douglas County, Colorado, ballots to new addresses, a no-no under state election laws. Mail ballots were sent out earlier this month but one shouldn't ask why the county clerk, or the vendor, didn't check the U.S. Postal Service National Change Of Address (NCOA) database prior to mailing the ballots? The designated spokesman for the vendor, Omaha-based Pitney Bowes PSI, was traveling Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. But certainly a company like Pitney Bowes must be accustomed to checking NCOA prior to mass mailings?

By Tuesday, all the ballots, including 22 sent to voters who had moved but were still eligible to vote in the election, were accounted for. According to Douglas County election chief Jack Arrowsmith all of the improperly forwarded ballots were invalidated. But we'll just have to take his word for it. However, his information is certainly second hand.

Arrowsmith said the error was an honest mistake but misplacing 1,100 ballots in a precinct election would be considered a major problem. However, in a mail ballot election, 1,100 ballots are a tiny fraction of those that are unaccounted for, which encourages election fraud.

Typically the company that made the mistake handles direct-mail advertising. "If you're selling widgets, getting your stuff forwarded is a good thing," Arrowsmith said. "But ballots, it's not," which is certainly an understatement and nonsense. Advertisements sent by mail are rarely forwarded.

The public is, of course, supposed to be reassured by these platitudes. But one wonders how many races or issues will be decided by less than 1,100 votes in this election?

And how many "glitches" does it take to add up to a real problem with mail ballot elections?

For more information see Why Mail Ballots Are A Bad Idea

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Issues The Equal Justice Foundation Deals With

| Prohibition & War On Drugs | Vote Fraud & Election Issues |