A Nov. 12 letter writer wrote that she and her husband did not receive their absentee ballots due to late mailing and insufficient postage.
For the 2010 election cycle, state law permitted registered voters to submit their absentee ballot applications beginning July 20. The letter writer and her husband submitted their absentee ballot applications on Aug. 25. The County Clerk's Office mailed their primary election absentee ballots to them on Aug. 26.
Her assertion that their absentee ballots were mailed to them using a "39-cent stamp" is incorrect. In fact, their ballots were sent to the them in China free of postage pursuant to a provision of federal law, 39 USC 3406, that requires balloting materials be sent to certain overseas voters at no cost to them.
On Sept. 24, general election ballots were shipped to them via FedEx to the address in China that they provided. FedEx returned their ballots to the Clerk's Office on Oct. 18. When questioned, a FedEx representative informed us that the address in China did not supply sufficient information to enable delivery. On Oct. 19, the Clerk's Office mailed them their ballots via the United States Postal Service.
We urge overseas voters to apply for absentee ballots as soon as the law allows and to remember to supply election officials with sufficient address information to assure delivery of their ballots in the foreign country where they reside.
Jeffrey T. Kuwada
County Clerk, Maui County
Wailuku
