Action | 2014 Absentee Material Omissions |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 7/21/2014 |
Not including the generational suffix or the street identifier should not be considered "material". The ballot was mailed to a particular person because he/she filled out an application. It was an approved application, or they would not have received a ballot. To then require the recipient of the ballot to repeat what has already been noted is unnecessasry because it has already been found to be accurate. These votes should be counted.
My particular street name is too long to fit on any form with boxes. It is 20 characters long without putting DRIVE after it. I am accustomed to writing my street name WITHOUT the street identifier.
Also, many if not most roads only have one identifier with that street name. And for those which have 2 identifiers with the same name, the resident knows this and would include it on the ballot. They know this. For those who know that there are no other streets with the same name, it would be unnecessary to inlude this identifier. The voter who knows he need to include it will do so; for others it is immaterial. In either case, the person's identity is clear.
I receive mail at my address without the identifier. The letter carrier knows where my street is. No one who writes to me has to include DRIVE behind the name of my street. Neither should I have to include it in my address on the mailed-in ballot.
Here are some alternatives:
This issue can so easily be resolved with better mailing practices.