A San Diego assemblywoman introduced legislation Tuesday that would make it free for voters to return absentee ballots in the mail.
Democrat Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher said AB 216 comes at a time when voters are increasingly using mail ballots in elections. She said 57 percent of voters statewide submitted ballots by mail in the November general election.
Meanwhile, many people aren’t as likely to have stamps immediately available since it’s increasingly the case that they connect with other people via social media and pay bills online.
Today I introduced #AB216 to allow voters to return mail ballots without having to scrounge for and use a postage stamp. #ItsTheLittleThings
— L. Gonzalez Fletcher (@LorenaAD80) January 24, 2017
Because of a huge amount of propositions before voters, San Diego County officials had to adopt a two-card ballot last fall for the first time. Mailing it back cost 67 cents postage.
“While some states have recently gone to great lengths to keep people from voting, we want to show that California is committed to taking away every barrier preventing people from casting a vote,” Gonzalez Fletcher said.
Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, jointly authored the bill and numerous other Democrats signed on as co-authors.
— City News Service
