Judge blocks USPS election mailer in Colorado

If postcard is in your mailbox, Clay County election supervisor says it’s accurate in Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A United States Postal Service postcard that is the focus of a federal lawsuit in Colorado, may be sitting in your mailbox.

The postcard reminds voters around the country to plan ahead if they intend to vote by mail. It urges voters to request their mail-in ballot at least 15 days before the election.

Chris Chambless, Clay County’s supervisor’s of elections, says the postcard is timely and 100% accurate for Florida.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve received these notices that, hey, if you want to find out more information about what’s on your ballot and what’s available online, everything from signing up to an election worker to requesting your mail in ballot, and I think that’s important," Chambless said.

But election officials in Utah, Nevada and Maryland have joined the state of Colorado in publicly rebuking the USPS postcard, because they say their election laws are different.

“The postcard contains two pieces of wrong election information for Colorado," said Jena Griswold, Colorado’s Secretary of State.

Griswold said the mailer is inaccurate because every voter in Colorado is already automatically sent a sample ballot through email. Griswold said the card is confusing at best and that it can lead to voter suppression at worst, and a judge in the state issued a temporary restraining order blocking it from being sent to additional voters in Colorado.

“We asked them to delay or just not send them in Colorado, and they refused. What these lawsuits are about is asking a judge to tell the postal service to not send this postcard, which contains misinformation on election to Colorado voters.”

USPS is defending the mailer, saying:

“It had a valid public purpose: To encourage advance planning by those voters who intend to vote by mail ... in the hopes of of increasing the likelihood that their mail-in ballots would be timely received and counted.”

If you plan to vote by mail, request your ballot as soon as possible and either drop it off at an early voting site or mail it at least seven days in advance.

Chambless says Clay County voters can download their sample ballot from the Supervisor of Elections website, and they can track their actual mail-in ballot from start to finish, ensuring it is counted in the November election.


About the Author:

Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.