How to Request to Vote by Absentee Ballot

Any registered voter has the right to request an absentee ballot. If you are going to be unable to get to the polls for any reason due to work, hospitalization, a trip, military service, concern about weather or crowds, you can still get a chance to vote. Your ballot can be mailed to you if the clerk has been given a reasonable amount of time to get it to you.

Instructions

1. Call, write or personally visit your municipality's office during the weeks before election and request an absentee ballot. Some municipalities have email addresses set up for this purpose.

2. Speak personally with the clerk or registrar of voters; he will give you a date to expect the mailed ballot.

3. Ask the ballot clerk for your Voter Record Identification Number for future requests. It will make it easier to identify you, particularly if you have the same or similar name to another voter in your ward.

4. Wait for your ballot to arrive in the mail, unless you have designated a third person to pick up the sealed envelope and give it to you in person.

5. If the ballot does not arrive on time, wait 2 or 3 more days. If it still does not get delivered, contact the clerk and explain the situation. When you receive the ballot, follow the instructions that will be printed on it and return as directed.

Tips & Warnings

• All United States registered voters now have voter record numbers under the HAVA Act of 2002.

• Do not wait until the week before election to request a ballot that must be mailed, unless you are in the town or city where you vote.

• Do not vote using an ink pen on an absentee ballot.