October 19, 2006
Charlene Gagnier
Voter Education & Public Information Manager
UNDERSTANDING THE ABSENTEE BALLOT
PROCESS AS ELECTION DRAWS NEAR
With the General Election closely upon us, Supervisor of
Elections Ann McFall would like to review the procedures of
voting by absentee ballot for those wishing to vote in this
manner. She asks that all who plan to vote by absentee for the
General Election request one as soon as possible to avoid delay
in returning it back to the Department of Elections by Election
Day. For a voter’s absentee ballot to be counted, it must be
received by this office no later than 7pm Election Night.
Polling places cannot accept absentee ballots to be counted on
Election Day. If a voter orders an absentee ballot, and chooses
to vote at the polls instead, the voter must surrender the
ballot in person and the poll worker will reissue another ballot
to be voted in person. If the voter cannot produce the absentee
ballot, the voter will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot.
Voters are reminded that they can order an absentee ballot in
person, by mail, phone, fax, e-mail and
on-line. When
ordering an absentee ballot, please provide the voter’s name,
residence address, date of birth – and signature if it is a
written request. The request may be from the voter or may be
requested by a member of the voter’s immediate family or legal
guardian, with the voter’s permission. The voter may request
ballots for either a specific election or for the entire
calendar year.
Absentee ballots are nonforwardable and will be mailed to the
voter’s address on file with the Supervisor of Elections unless
the voter specifies in the request that he/she will be absent
from the county on election day or is temporarily unable to
occupy his/her residence. In this case the ballot shall be sent
to the address the voter specifies on the request. It is
important to note that a request for an absentee ballot to be
mailed to a voter must be received no later than 5:00 pm on the
6th day before the election.
Anyone may pick up an absentee ballot for another person, with
written, signed permission from the voter, no earlier than 4
days before an election. Written permission must state
designee’s name, whether the person is related to the voter or
not, and if so, what the relationship is to the voter. Designee
must provide identification.
A person may come to the office of the Supervisor of Elections
and vote in person or take the ballot home and return it either
in person or by mail. An individual may pick up absentee ballots
for a maximum of two individuals who are not in their immediate
family. There is no limit on the number of absentee ballots a
person may return to the Department of Elections.
A voter must completely sign the VOTER’S CERTIFICATE on the back
of the mailing envelope in order for the ballot to be counted. A
power of attorney signature on behalf of a voter is not
acceptable. However, signature stamps are acceptable.
