Franklin County voters face confusion over mail-in ballot postage

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The instructions on Franklin County mail-in ballots say 73 cents, or one forever stamp, will cover the cost of mailing your absentee ballot to the board of elections. However, NBC4 is learning that's not the case for many voters.

NBC4 Investigates went to several different post offices around Franklin County to ask why some absentee voters are paying $1.01 when the ballot instructions say 0.73 cents. Each post office gave different answers.

One said they’ve seen a lot of voters with this issue, so they weigh the ballot and charge them accordingly. Another post office said they mail the ballots regardless of whether more postage is needed. Another said to go ask the postmaster general.

"There is a disconnect somewhere with the processing. There's a disconnect somewhere with the information," one Franklin County voter, who did not want her name used, said.

This Franklin County voter has voted by mail for years and this year was no different.

"I read everything that came in that envelope," she said. "It told you how to fill it out. It told you how to seal it and everything. So, in between me filling it out and sealing it, I read everything."

She didn’t have a stamp, so she took her ballot to the post office, and was told it would cost more to mail in her ballot than what was listed on the instructions that come with the ballot.

"We followed the instructions on the ballot," she said. "Was it an error on the ballot?"

She’s not the only one. Franklin County voter Jeff Brown also had to pay more than what was listed.

"The lack of transparency is like somebody is on one side of the fence fighting here," Brown said. "I mean, why wasn't the verbiage the same as it was back in the primary when they said it's going to be x amount more stamp or money or whatever?"

We wanted to know: what about the people who just put a stamp on their ballot and dropped it in a mailbox? Would their vote make it? So, we took that question to the Franklin County Board of Elections.

"We work with the post office. If folks are mailing in their ballot with a forever stamp, it will get to us, they've assured us that we will get all ballots that have been sent," Franklin County Board of Elections Public Information Officer Aaron Sellers said.

While those NBC4 Investigates spoke with are worried about a disconnect, the bottom line is making sure every vote counts.

"What I'm going to do is the information that you've provided as I'm going to work with our absentee folks to make sure that we reach out to our folks at the post office and make sure that everybody in Franklin County, all the post office are, you know, telling people the same message," Sellers said to NBC4 Investigates.

On Friday afternoon, he emailed NBC4 Investigates saying that the Franklin County Board of Elections' director reached out to their contact at the USPS and made them aware of the issue we brought to them. He said, "They told us they had a meeting with all Columbus USPS managers to reiterate ballot processes."

Sellers also sent a photo of part of a ballot that had incomplete postage, which showed that all ballots USPS receives are sent to the board. 

The Franklin County Board of Elections said to follow the mail-in instructions very closely: you don’t need to include a copy of your ID or anything extra. Sellers said what sometimes can happen is that extra papers can weigh down the envelope.

Those NBC4 spoke with said they did not add anything extra, so we reached out to USPS for a statement on the cost difference.

The USPS sent a statement that did not answer the question but said in part, "The U.S. Postal Service is committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. In 2024, just as we have in previous elections, the Postal Service is collecting, processing, transporting, and delivering the nation’s Election Mail when public policy makers choose to utilize the mail as a part of their election system or when voters choose to use our services to participate in an election. We are employing robust and proven processes to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots."

To make sure your ballot is received, you can track it yourself. This will give you an alert when the ballot is received. Voters can sign up to do that at this link. You can also drop your ballot off in person at the your county board of elections.