Franklin County Clarifies Absentee Ballot Postage

Franklin County elections officials are reminding voters that it costs 65 cents postage to return ballots. But ballots will be counted regardless of postage. Franklin County Board of Elections Ben Piscatelli says this is the first election he can recall where it costs more than price of one stamp to send in your ballot. “The ballot is two pages for everyone in the county because there’ s been some lengthy wording on issues this year that required everyone to have a two-page ballot," Piscatelli says. Return postage varies by county, and Piscatelli says it’s easy to see on the instructions that come with every ballot. But even if voters only stick a single stamp on the return envelope, Piscatelli says their vote will be counted. “The Post Office has pledged to deliver this material, whether or not correct postage is on it or not.â€? Piscatelli says they discuss possible reimbursement with the Post Office after the election. Piscatelli says Franklin county has not seen the same problems as Cuyahoga county, where a printing error gave thousands of ballots hard-to-read name and signature boxes.