August 17, 2006
Charlene Gagnier
Voter Education & Public Information Manager
UNDERSTANDING THE ABSENTEE BALLOT
PROCESS AS ELECTIONS DRAW NEAR
With the Primary and General elections 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 Primary and General Election to 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.
