HOUSTON — If you are applying for an absentee ballot, be sure to check the return envelope.
One woman contacted us after noticing the address to the clerk’s office was missing. She asked us to Verify whether all return envelopes are left blank.
The pre-printed return envelope Annette Landsdowne says was included in her absentee ballot application packet said, “To: Early Voting Clerk.” The address lines were bare.
“I said, what? This is silly because, you know, where do you send it? What are they going to do with it? I didn't have a return address and I thought, well, it's going to go to somebody's junk mail or in the trash because it has no destination,” Landsdowne said.
Our source for this is the Harris County Clerk’s Office.
A spokesperson tells the Verify team, “All of the mail we send out to voters has our return mailing address and P.O. Box. That came from a third party.”
Harris County also sent us a copy of what their mailer looks like. The address to the clerk’s P.O. Box is printed on the envelope.
Annette said she made a few phone calls and got the correct address. She says she feels confident that her application is being processed.
“I realized I had to be more aggressive about it,” Landsdowne said.
So, we can Verify that this envelope did not come from the Harris County Clerk’s Office.
There is nothing wrong with getting an absentee ballot application from a third party. Your local clerk’s office will process it. Just make sure you check the return envelope, like Landsdowne did, to make sure it is addressed correctly.