No stamp required ...
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Among the skads of election-related bills is this little idea by Representatives Hasegawa, Green and Chase. Their House Bill 2112 would require counties to send out their vote-by-mail ballots wih prepaid return postage.
Info about HB 2112 can be found here.
The state would reimburse the counties. No word yet on the pricetag, but a similar bill last year had a cost of $2 million-plus, so it could be a tough sell in this economic environment. Secretary Reed has testified against the free-postage idea in the past, noting that as Thurston County Auditor, he did a couple of trial runs, but didn't notice any real difference in return rates. The sponsors, in their bill, say that vote-by-mail has many advantages, but that even the price of a stamp amounts to a "poll tax" on the poor.
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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