In the comments was a little but interesting piece of info. In 2008, the absentee ballot request form to send back was postage-paid - maybe due to cost-cutting state measures. This year you have to put your own stamp on it.
Would a prepaid envelope make some difference in the number of ballot requests returned? Perhaps if a voter isn’t enthusiastic, they might not bother sending the form in or they procrastinate in getting a stamp. If the voter really wants to vote, they wouldn’t mind paying to send it in.
I dunno. Maybe it’s a stretch but there is a reason why many charitable organizations send you prepaid addressed envelopes with their appeals.
You know, I think you really hit on something. Think of the SEIU hag screaming about the free phone. Would someone like that really buy a stamp, even if someone else had mass- filled out the ballot request for her?