U.S. Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley issued a joint letter today to U.S. Postal Service district managers in Iowa, “urging them to ensure that ballots receive legible postmarks between now and Election Day.” I’ve posted the full statement after the jump.

Absentee ballots may be counted in Iowa if they are postmarked on or before the day before election day. However, many ballots do not receive a postmark, so there is no way to prove they were mailed in time. With more than 100,000 absentee ballots requested but not yet returned to Iowa county auditors, there’s a real risk that over the next several days, thousands of Iowans will mail ballots that end up going uncounted.

I applaud Harkin and Grassley for speaking out on this important problem but wish they had sent their letter a few weeks earlier. I don’t know whether there is time for the Postal Service district managers to enact this policy change and get the word out to all staff.

At this point, the safest ways to return an absentee ballot are 1) hand-deliver to the county auditor’s office, or 2) take to the post office and insist that a postmark be put on the envelope.

OCTOBER 30, 2014

GRASSLEY AND HARKIN CALL ON POSTAL SERVICE TO ENSURE ALL ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE COUNTED

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) today called on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make all possible effort to ensure that Iowa absentee ballots are counted. Specifically, the senators issued a letter to the district managers of the Hawkeye District USPS and the Central Plains District USPS urging them to ensure that ballots receive legible postmarks between now and Election Day. Under Iowa state law, ballots received on Election Day or after may only be counted if they are postmarked one day prior to the election. The USPS does not routinely postmark business reply mail envelopes, including ballots, leaving many Iowans at risk of being disenfranchised.

“We must make all possible effort to ensure that every ballot receives a legible postmark between now and Election Day, next Tuesday, November 4,” said Grassley and Harkin. “We respectfully request that the Postal Service instruct its staff across the state to take the actions necessary to ensure that every ballot is postmarked, ensuring that each Iowa vote that is properly cast can also be properly counted.”

The full text of the senators’ letter is below.

October 30, 2014

Jim Herrman

District Manager

Hawkeye District United States Postal Service

7900 Hickman Road

Des Moines, IA 50324-4400

Rick Pivovar

District Manager

Central Plains District United States Postal Service

6005 Lockheed Court

P.O. Box 199500

Omaha, NE 68119

Dear Mr. Herrman and Mr. Pivovar:

As you may be aware, Iowa state law currently requires that ballots received on Election Day or after may only be counted if they are postmarked one day prior to the election.  Because the United States Postal Service does not routinely postmark business reply mail envelopes, including ballots, many Iowans are at risk of being disenfranchised by not having a legitimately cast ballot counted.

This is particularly problematic given that Iowans have chosen to vote early in 2014 at a rate unprecedented in a non-Presidential election year.  Already nearly 400,000 Iowans have requested to vote by mail.  While the majority of those voters have returned their ballots already, thousands of voters will mail their ballots in the final days before November 4.

We recognize that business reply mail is not required to be postmarked.  Indeed a survey by county auditors in local elections last year found that most ballots were not postmarked, and that whether or how many ballots were postmarked was not consistent from one county to the next.

However, we are calling on you to recognize the critical Constitutional right at stake and make every effort to ensure that every ballot receives a legible postmark between now and the election next Tuesday, November 4.  We respectfully request that you instruct your staff across the states to take the actions necessary to ensure that every ballot is postmarked and thus ensure that every Iowa vote that is properly cast can also be properly counted this year.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter.