A 41-Cent Poll Tax?

36 of Washington state's 39 counties have converted to vote-by-mail. Question: in a jurisdiction in which people must go to the polls to vote, can the cost of transportation be considered a poll tax? Be sure to see the comments.

by Brad Shannon | The Olympian | October 24, 2007

Wally DeMucha, 84, is making progress in his one-man battle to vote without paying for stamps on his mail-in ballots.

DeMucha typically tosses his ballot in the mail without postage, and typically it gets counted. But in the latest wrinkle of his years-long protest, he just received a dozen prepaid envelopes from the Thurston County Elections Office for the Nov. 6 election.

The envelopes are similar to what overseas military voters get.

"It's unusual for us to do that," elections manager Steve Homan said, explaining the decision to send the envelopes was at the direction of the Office of the Secretary of State. "He's an older gentleman; instead of fighting him, they said to go ahead and provide what he wanted."

DeMucha, a World War II veteran, told The Olympian he's glad to get the envelopes but that it falls short of what he's trying to accomplish for other voters. He thinks no one should have to... Read more...