Jul 24, 2020

Postmaster: Put postage on your mail-in ballots UPDATE

Posted Jul 24, 2020 1:46 PM

UPDATED 11:30 a.m. Friday to include additional comments from Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus and Deputy Clerk Bobbi Dreiling.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

If you are voting by mail in the Ellis County primary, you need to put return postage on your ballot envelope, according to the Hays postmaster.

Donnie Shubert, Hays postmaster, said Thursday primary mail-in ballots need to have the required $1.20 postage to be returned to the Ellis County Clerk's office.

Laura Allen, Democratic write-in candidate for Ellis County Clerk, suggested in a letter to Hays Post that voters with mail-in ballots return their ballots through the mail without postage.

Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus also said the mail-in ballots need to be returned with the $1.20 postage.

Shubert said if the postage is not affixed to the envelope, the ballots will be returned to the clerk's office with $1.20 postage due.

Allen was critical of Maskus for not paying the postage for return ballots.

"Election officials should want our citizens to vote," Allen said in her letter. "We should want their voices to be heard. We should facilitate that process as much as possible, and we should find ways to do that without actually costing Ellis County residents more in the long run."

Allen would face Republican Bobbi Dreiling in the general election, who is the current assistant clerk.

She alleged the county clerk had federal funds available to pay the postage for returning the mail-in primary ballots.

Maskus said the clerk's office received $27,877 in federal funds to be spent on election functions. A portion of that money was spent to send applications for mail-in ballots for the primary and general elections to Ellis County residents. Some of the money was used to place the outdoor ballot drop box at the county building. Money was also used to send letters to potential election workers. 

"Clerk Maskus made a judgment call on how to use the money that unfortunately did not include the return postage on the advance envelopes," Maskus and Deputy County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling said in a response to Hays Post. "There is absolutely nothing in Kansas law that requires the election officer to put on return postage. Historically, Ellis County has never put return postage on advance ballots due to not having the budget to do so. (Maskus) chose to spend it in other areas including a drop box so that the voter would not have to spend money on postage."

Although paying for return postage for primary ballots was an option for the federal funds, Maskus said the federal money had already been spent on other election functions.

"If we would have done  what Ms. Allen is suggesting, the cost of return postage would have been $3,000. Supposing a 50% return rate by mail, Ellis County just wasted $1,500  of the CARES fund for ballots not returned through the mail," Maskus and Dreiling said. "Many voters do  choose to return their ballot personally or through our drop box. Theoretically, this $1,500 could have been well spent in other areas in Ellis County." 

Ballots can be returned in person without postage to either a ballot drop box on the south side of county administration building, 718 Main, or to the clerk's office during business hours at the same address.

Voters can also advance vote in person at the clerk's office between now and July 31 during office hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last day to advance vote is Monday, Aug. 3. Voting is open that day from 8 a.m. to noon. Primary Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 4.

If you vote in person, you will need to bring your driver's license or other voter ID.

If you would like to check to see if the clerk's office has received your ballot, you can do so by going to the Voter View link on the Election page of the Ellis County website. This is under View Your Ballot & Know Your Polling Location heading.

Maskus urged anyone with voting questions to call the clerk's office at 785-628-9410.