FedEx, voter group hope to ease ballot shipping woes

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FedEx, voter group hope to ease ballot shipping woes
By Chris Good
Posted: 07/12/08 02:11 PM


Seeking to alleviate a top concern for overseas absentee voters, FedEx will team up with a voter participation group and ship ballots for free or at heavy discounts this fall, the company announced this week.

FedEx called the initiative “a natural extension of our ongoing commitment to making strategic use of our physical and digital networks to meet the needs of people worldwide.”

Overnight delivery from FedEx’s Asia/Pacific region will be free. It will cost $23 from Latin America; $18 from Canada; and $23.50 from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India, a 70 percent discount in that region, a FedEx spokeswoman told The Hill. FedEx branches in 89 countries will participate.

FedEx is partnering with Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) for the program, which it is calling "Express Your Vote." The groups announced the initiative Wednesday.

"The number one question we get around election time is: did my ballot arrive and did it get counted?" OVF President and CEO Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat told The Hill. Her organization has been dedicated to overseas voter registration and participation since 2005.

Overseas voters will be able to print FedEx forms and request ballot pickups on OVF’s website. FedEx will send confirmation emails when votes are delivered, and voters will have access to FedEx tracking tools via OVF's site, allowing them to monitor their ballots' voyages.

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http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/fedex-voter-group-hope-to-ease-ballot-shipping-woes-2008-07-12.html