The Oglethorpe Echo
Absentee ballots sent to Oglethorpe County voters on April 22 that were lost in the mail have been found, according to election officials and the U.S. Postal Service.
“As of (Sunday) they were located,” Oglethorpe County Election Supervisor Marilyn Huff-Waller said on Monday. “They’re being processed. They are being sent out, (the USPS) said, (Monday and Tuesday). I don’t know why they’re not all going today, but they have been located.”
The approximately 200 ballots had been sent from the election office to voters, so they were unmarked and no votes were lost. The USPS wouldn’t confirm to Huff-Waller or The Oglethorpe Echo where or when the ballots were found, but provided a statement:
“USPS works closely with local election officials across the state of Georgia throughout the election season. We have contacted the Georgia State Election Board, as well as Oglethorpe County’s Board of Elections to communicate the ballot status and regret any concern caused. The Postal Service will continue to work with the Georgia Boards of Election and looks forward to a successful election.”
According to data on the USPS’ website, 60.44% of mail delivered to Lexington during the week of April 13 was “on time,” down from 90.23% over the same period in 2023.
When considering only “election mail,” 53.66% was on time, compared to 87.53% last year.
On average, it’s taking a day longer to deliver the mail this year than in 2023.
As of May 6, the Oglethorpe County Board of Elections had issued at least 226 absentee ballots, but only nine had been returned, according to its website.
Election Assistant Steve McCannon said that as soon as the Board of Elections learned the ballots had gone missing, it started to contact everyone who had asked for one.
“I started on Thursday afternoon, and we did it all day Friday and Saturday,” he said. “Two of the poll workers assisted me. We were trying to call and see if they were able to make it in for early voting or on election day.”
McCannon encouraged residents waiting on absentee ballots to fill and return them as quickly as they can, or to avoid mailing the ballots, if possible.
“We’re telling people, if they can, to bring them back to our election office,” he said. “If they have a family member or a caretaker there, they can bring it back once they’ve completed the ballot.”
He also said voters who requested absentee ballots can vote in person, even if they receive their absentee ballot, but have to fill out a form at their precinct to cancel the absentee ballot.
Only nine absentee ballots had been returned and accepted as of May 6, according to the Board of Elections website.
Applications for absentee ballots are still available, but must be returned to the Board of Elections by May 10, or 11 days before the election. The application can be found on the Board of Elections’ website or by calling the office.
Absentee ballots must be received by the Board of Elections by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. May 21.
The Oglethorpe County Board of Elections issued 200 absentee ballots for the presidential primary election in March. Of those, 177 were returned and accepted. Over 9% of the 1,909 total ballots cast in the county were absentee.