SC election officials agree to provide prepaid postage for absentee ballots

WASHINGTON — Return postage for all mail absentee ballots in South Carolina’s 2020 general election will be prepaid after state election officials agreed to change the process, resolving one of several voting-related issues that Democrats sued the state to try to change.

Several Democratic party organizations and individual voters complained in federal court earlier this year about the requirement that voters pay for postage to return their absentee ballots by mail, arguing that it presents an undue burden on the right to vote and effectively serves as a poll tax.

In a joint agreement filed Wednesday, S.C. election officials said they now intend to provide prepaid postage on all absentee ballot return envelopes this year, regardless of the number of voters who qualify and take advantage of absentee voting by mail, eliminating the need for any further legal action on the issue.

Shaundra Young Scott, the S.C. Democratic Party’s director of voter protection, said the party was pleased with the commission’s decision on prepaid postage and hopes that it will lead to a broader expansion of absentee ballots and vote by mail.



https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-election-officials-agree-to-provide-prepaid-postage-for-absentee-ballots/article_5fbc3fc2-c1ed-11ea-a66c-835742fd1988.html