The final tallies for all seven contests in Juneau’s October election were too lopsided for the more than 700 rejected ballots to change any outcomes. Via KTOOpubmedia
City and Borough of Juneau clerk Beth McEwen holds a stack of vote-by-mail ballots on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 as Juneau's election canvass board reviews ballots. Juneau election officials had to reject more than 700 ballots they received in the October municipal election.
Mitchell said she did the corrective paperwork and mailed it off. After the election was certified, she got another letter that said her ballot wasn’t counted because her signatures didn’t match. It’s not clear fromif there was a problem with her most recent paperwork, or if election officials just didn’t get it in time.
A handful came from ineligible voters: They were registered to vote in another community, or they sent in more than one ballot, or they weren’t registered to vote in time. A few envelopes were returned without a ballot inside, and a few more ballots were returned without the official election envelope.
That type of prepaid postage normally is not postmarked. That’s because the main purpose of postmarks is to keep postage from being reused, like canceling a check. Business reply mail is precanceled. The Postal Service referred questions to James Boxrud, a spokesperson based in Denver. In a written statement, Boxrud said, “We acknowledge that circumstances can arise that prevent ballots from receiving a legible postmark.”
McEwen and the Postal Service said they are working together again to make sure the 2022 election goes more smoothly.