Return to sender, address unknown

When voter registration cards were mailed in December, County Clerk Debbie Newman said she knew some would come back- they always do.

But this year it wasn't a trickle, it was a tsunami. By Friday of last week, several bins of returned cards lined the aisles of the county clerk's office, and more come back every day.

Voter registration cards are mailed every two years. By law, they are not supposed to be forwarded, but Jasper County residents have continued to use their old addresses instead of updating to the legal 9-1-1 address codes. This is the first mass mailing of voter cards where that requirement has been enforced.

"We knew it would be bad," Newman said, "But I don't think we had any idea it would be quite this many."

She said she had no way of knowing how many, out of 18,000, would be returned for incorrect addresses.

Any registered voter who has not received their orange card can stop by the county clerk's office or call 384-2632 to verify their mailing address, or to make any other corrections such as a name change due to marital status.

"People will still be able to vote," Newman said, "They can show identification such as a driver's license and get a ballot, but it will delay the process if they wait until election day to make this correction."

New voters have until Feb. 4 to register to vote in the March primary elections.

9-1-1 addresses

The 9-1-1 address code system was adopted to aid first responders in rural areas and to create a uniform address to replace the old rural routes. Increasingly, computer systems used by credit card companies and mailing programs like the one The Jasper Newsboy uses will reject any address not in the 9-1-1 database.

Your 9-1-1 address represents how far you are from the beginning of a county road. For instance, an address of "337 County Road 091" says you are 1/3 of a mile (.337) from the beginning of that road.

If you are unsure of your correct 911 address, call DETCOG (Deep East Texas Council of Governments) at 384-5704 or 800-256-6848.

Unless you receive mail at a postal box, you should begin notifying everyone of your new correct address, including all your bills, subscriptions, insurance companies, medical providers, social security, your employer and your Christmas card list.