The Postal Service will deliver the ballot papers even if they do not have enough stamps

By Claire Savage - AFP

Some Facebook posts shared more than 2,000 times just a few weeks before the US presidential election claim that ballot papers to vote by mail require two postage stamps to be valid.

This assertion is misleading.

The United States Postal Service assured that postage requirements vary from state to state, and that its official policy is to deliver ballots even if they do not have the correct number of stamps, and then collect the rest of the value from the board. corresponding local election.

"TWO POSTCARDS NEEDED FOR MAIL TICKETS, MAKE SURE OF THIS SO YOUR VOTE IS VALIDATED !!!!!" says a Facebook post published on October 5, 2020.

Here and here you can see more examples of similar posts on that social network.

This information on the number of stamps was also circulated on multiple pro-Democrat Facebook groups that have thousands of followers.

Martha Johnson, a USPS spokeswoman, told AFP via email that the postal service “requires elections officials to inform voters of the number of stamps needed, as the mail for ballots varies in terms of their content and weight ", which affects the shipping cost.

The official also said that each state or local electoral board, if authorized, can also choose to provide voters with prepaid shipping costs.

[Follow our full coverage on the presidential elections]

The National Conference of State Legislatures, the body that collects legislation from across the country, determined that 17 states require local electoral authorities to cover return shipping costs for ballots sent by mail.

"If, despite this, a return ballot is sent in the mail with insufficient or unpaid stamps, the policy of the Postal Service is not to delay the delivery of the completed vote-by-mail ballots," the Postal Service spokeswoman assured.

"In cases in which a ballot enters the regular mail without the proper amount of stamps, the postal service will deliver the ballot and subsequently will try to collect the shipping costs from the corresponding Electoral Board," he added.

Here you can see the information published by the Postal Service about voting by mail.

Never in the history of the United States so many people exercise their right to mark a ballot from home AP

Distrust in the voting-by-mail system and misinformation about the USPS - largely driven by President Donald Trump himself - has increased as the presidential election approaches, with tens of millions of voters choosing to vote for mail, as an alternative to voting in person in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump continues to claim that voting by mail carries a great risk of fraud.

Officials and experts say that is not true.

Postal Service Director Contradicts Trump By Saying Voting By Mail Is Safe

Aug. 21, 202002: 03

You can read more verifications that AFP has done, which have superseded these types of claims about vote by mail and the USPS, here, here and here.

The translation of this article was carried out by Daniela Nougues thanks to the FactChat agreement, coordinated by the 

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