Those who had to change their polling station or were registered to vote, but did not do so, will receive a small courtesy card from the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office.
According to Sweetwater County Clerk Dale Davis, the office sends cards in an attempt to contact residents to confirm their new election district information or check to see if the resident wants to keep their voter registration. Registered voters who do not participate in the general election may lose their voting status, resulting in a resident needing to re-register for the following election.
For non-presidential years, this number can be quite substantial.
Davis said this year, his office is sending 6,739 cards to voters not participating in the November election. Of that number, Davis said roughly 2 percent will respond and claim they want to keep their registration.
“It’s probably easier for them to notify us (than re-register to vote,)” Davis said.
Another 1,155 cards were sent to residents who changed their voting information during the last election. These cards only ask residents to verify their new voting district and address information and contact the clerk’s office if a change is needed.
In years past, the clerk’s office employees would spend an entire week stuffing envelopes with letters to be mailed out after an election. Starting in 2010, the office opted to have reminder cards printed and sent in a bid to save money.
The office employs a local printing company to print the cards and mail them to residents. While it costs 48 cents to send a letter, sending the cards nearly cuts that cost in half because the county only pays 26 cents per card mailed. That also doesn’t include the savings found in employee time.
“It’s a significant savings for the county,” Davis said.
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