Mail ballot applications in Wichita mailboxes a courtesy, not a scam, officials say
Mail ballot applications that have been showing up in mailboxes across Wichita this week are part of a nationwide outreach to under-represented voters and are legitimate, according to a Sedgwick County election official and the group that sent them.
The applications were sent by the Center for Voting Information. It’s a Washington-based nonpartisan, nonprofit group that works to increase voter participation in elections by reaching out to groups with low turnout rates, including minorities, young voters and single women, the organization said in a written statement responding to questions from The Eagle.
“With COVID-19 impacting elections, we have a responsibility to do all we can to safely increase voter turnout amid this uncertain time,” the statement said. “We feel it is vital to keep voters safe and to bring democracy to eligible voters’ doorsteps.”
The ballot applications were sent to Democratic and Republican voters.
“Since we are nonpartisan, we do not send mailers based on party affiliation,” the statement said. “We care IF you vote, but not HOW you vote.”
Questions had been raised because the forms were sent to voters who had already applied for mail ballots and had a Missouri return address on the main envelope, said Melissa Schnieders, deputy Sedgwick County election commissioner.
The postage-paid envelope inside the package for mailing the application has the correct address of the county election office — minus its suite number in the Historic Courthouse which isn’t really necessary for delivery by the Postal Service, Schnieders said.
The applications, with the voter’s name and address pre-printed, are a reproduction of the same printable form that’s published on state and county election websites throughout Kansas and they’re legally legitimate requests for a mail ballot, Schnieders said.
The mailing did spark numerous phone calls to the election office, because voters on the permanent mail-ballot list and some who’d already requested mail ballots wanted to check to make sure they didn’t need to file another form, she said.
A box in the upper-right-hand corner of the letter accompanying the applications states: “If you’ve already submitted a request for a ballot by mail for the 2020 General Election, there is no need to submit another request.”
Not everybody’s seeing that message, but those who send in duplicate applications will still only get one ballot, Schnieders said. She said the election office is bound by law and will process every application that comes in.
The Center for Voting Information is ordinarily more involved with assisting voters to register, but shifted focus this year because of a national clamor to vote by mail due to the threat of the coronavirus and fears of contracting COVID-19 in line at polling stations.
It claims its mailings have generated 1.8 million requests for mail ballots this election cycle.
For Sedgwick County residents, a copy of the application for a mail-in ballot can be found at the county election office website, https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/elections/ Voters may also request a ballot by calling 316-660-7100.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
