Millions of voters — about 1 in 5 — are expected to vote absentee, or by mail, in November’s midterm elections. For many voters, it’s more convenient than going to the polls. But tens of thousands of these mail-in ballots are likely to be rejected — and the voter might never know, or know why. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission found that in 2012 more than a quarter of a million absentee ballots were rejected. The No. 1 reason? The ballot wasn’t returned on time, which in most states is by Election Day. Sometimes it’s the voter’s fault. Others blame the post office.
Kim Alexander, who runs the California Voter Foundation, says this past June almost 600 absentee ballots arrived at the Santa Cruz County election office the morning after the primary. Too late to count.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Because the only thing worse than people not voting is people trying to vote and having their ballots go uncounted,” says Alexander. “And most of these people have no idea that their ballots are not getting counted. They could be making the same mistakes over and over again.”
Full Article (with Audio): Want Your Absentee Vote To Count? Don’t Make These Mistakes : NPR.