Right by Miles
Two teenage boys are in a car chase with a reckless, sexually perverted Polk County sheriff’s deputy. The boys crash, killing Miles White, 16. But the sheriff’s office does not investigate its deputy’s involvement. Why?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
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With the presidential election coming, wouldn't it be great if people could pick up voter registration applications and vote-by-mail requests at their local post office?
"We try to place voter applications anywhere we can," said Nancy Whitlock, a spokeswoman for the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Office. "We want people to have access to the applications."
The local chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers thought it was a gem of an idea, but needed permission from officials at the Postal Service headquarters in Washington.
Both parties were surprised at the answer: no.
Answering questions about voting could take up too much of workers' time, plus, the brochures could clunk up the look of the lobby, officials said.
"If you allow an organization to take up space within the Postal Service, to be fair, you'd have to open that space to any organization," said Gary Sawtelle of the Postal Service, based in Tampa.
Postal policy does allow government agencies to use available space in post offices for a fee, he said, but the elections office request didn't indicate it was willing to pay or provide a person to supervise the brochures and applications.
"Any time you put information in the lobby, anybody that has a question is going to present it to the clerk," he said.
The letter carriers union isn't happy with the decision.
Voter participation is part of the union's mission, said Joseph Henschen, a local union executive vice president.
"It's a nice air-conditioned lobby," said Henschen, whose chapter represents letter carriers from Dunedin to Punta Gorda. "It's just one more avenue for them to do it."
By law, voter registration forms are supplied at libraries and Florida's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles offices.
Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or (727)893-8828.
[Last modified: Jun 05, 2008 01:15 PM]
Comments on this article
by Old School Service
Jun 5, 2008 1:15 PM
The NCR POS has a dyna key for both voters registration and selective service forms. Window clerks hit the keys and document all services performed. The lines are created by poor staffing by management. Our mission is to bind a nation together.
by Old School Service
Jun 5, 2008 1:09 PM
The NCR POS has a dyna key for both voters registration and selective service forms. Window clerks hit the keys and document all services performed. The lines are created by poor staffing by management. Our mission is to bind a nation together.
by Tom
Jun 4, 2008 9:36 PM
Voter's Registration cards are available in Oregon and time spent helping customers with questions is negligible. Many of us still spell it U.S. Postal SERVICE, and the customer is not the enemy.
by Shan
Jun 4, 2008 2:55 PM
I think the lines at most offices are long enough without the clerk having to answer voter questions too-Good Call!
by postal
Jun 4, 2008 2:55 PM
Sawtelle and Sonia are wrong- postal regulations allow voter registration in post offices. (POM 171.1) And who said anything about having clerks answer questions about registering? We've had tax forms for years, but we don't offer tax advice!)
by Steward
Jun 4, 2008 2:55 PM
Hey Joanie, you might not say anything to DC, they might issue you discipline.....
by Michelle
Jun 4, 2008 2:50 PM
It is at the discretion of the Postmaster; some offices have voter's
registration cards and Selective Service cards, some don't and yes there
is a tendency to ask clerks who should not be answering any questions, pamphlets no.
by common sense
Jun 4, 2008 2:33 PM
The US Postal Service is a federal agency and voter registration is a state function. We need to keep these functions separate.
by Lorrie
Jun 4, 2008 2:27 PM
Any post office I've visited in California has voter registration forms. Gary may be correct but he's not following tradition.
by Michelle
Jun 4, 2008 11:42 AM
I too am surprised at the Post Office's stand on this. In small towns where there area number of people without transportation we are the only avenue they have of obtaining information needed from other agencies.
by Sonia
Jun 4, 2008 10:49 AM
Gary Sawtelle was 100% correct in his explanation given by WDC about allowing voter registration forms/literature in a USPS lobby. Clerks who work at the window are incredibly busy at any given time of the day simply dealing with their customers' needs, questions and performing the myriad of other duties they handle "behind the scenes".
Adding another "customer service" of answering questions about voter registration would create yet another delay for the postal customer wishing to purchase stamps, mail a package, etc.
Keep voter registration out of our post offices, please!
by Joanie
Jun 4, 2008 10:07 AM
I am a postmaster in Maryland and am surprised at the Post Office's stand on this issue. Here in Maryland all offices provide voter registration and selective servic applications. We are one of the widest avenues for getting information to the public
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