Absentee ballots are now available
Published Sept. 29, 2006
Applications for absentee ballots became available Tuesday for November's election. A person who wants to vote absentee must submit an absentee ballot application, which includes a signed affidavit stating he or she fulfills certain requirements to receive an absentee ballot.
"You need to contact the county where you're registered to vote," Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said.
Students registered to vote in Boone County can contact Noren for an application. She said students should check with election officials in their area because the rules differ from state to state.
After filling out an application, ballots will be mailed to the approved voters.
The secretary of state's Web site states that a person can be an absentee voter if he or she meets the following requirements: is absent from his or her county on Election Day, is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability, has religious beliefs that prevent him or her from voting in person, is employed by election authorities or is in jail but retains his or her voting privileges.
Noren said the applications are due the Wednesday before the election but that it's important to get them in before that. The ballot must be given to election officials by the time polls close on Election Day.
"In reality, if I get an application the Wednesday before the election, the ballot may not get out until Thursday or Friday and may not get back in until Wednesday after the election and won't count," Noren said.
Missouri law states the ballots were to be available on Tuesday, but Noren said some places aren't able to produce the ballots yet.
"There are certain places in the state where the candidate withdrew, and they have to wait until the parties put a candidate in to print the ballot," she said.
Because of this, Noren said, sometimes ballots don't move through the mail as quickly as they should. The six-week period for absentee voting is mainly for people who will vote overseas because it takes a longer for the ballots to get to the voter and back to the county. Noren said students shouldn't wait long to apply for a ballot if they need one.
"You don't want to wait until the week before the election and not be able to vote," she said.
