Wednesday, November 22, 2000

On Monday, Oct. 30, eight days before the general election, my wife and I decided to apply for absentee ballots. To speed up the process, I drove my wife to [the Fayette County Elections] office to pick up the ballots. When she asked for the ballots, she was given two printed sheets of white paper and a sample ballot without any explanation.

On the way home, I noted the papers were applications for ballots. Since it was too late in the afternoon to return to your office before it closed for the day, I decided to return the applications by hand the next day.

The applications did not state that they had to be mailed in, and did not give an address to return them when completed; hence, I returned to your office on Tuesday, Oct. 31 and was then advised that applications had to be returned by mail (a state rule, I was told) and was given a card with the address.

I mailed the completed applications the same day, I received our ballots in the mail late in the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 3.

Monday morning, Nov. 6, we individually hand-delivered our ballots to your office, just one day prior to the election.

In order to be positive our ballots counted, we made three trips to your office in seven days. If the applications had contained the necessary information: the requirement to return the application by mail, where to mail the completed application, and the deadline for ballots to be received by your office much of the aggravation and the added trips to your office by senior citizens would have been avoided.

Please take the necessary action to prevent other elderly voters from having to go to such unnecessary steps to cast their ballots.

I am happy to be able to report that our last trip to your office to return the ballots was satisfying. Ms. Carolyn Combs, the manager, was helpful and speeded up our voting efficiently.

Patrick L. Anders, M.D.

Riverdale

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