21-A §753-B. Procedure for issuing absentee ballot
Title 21-A: ELECTIONS
Chapter 9: CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
Subchapter 4: ABSENTEE VOTING
Article 1: REGULAR ABSENTEE VOTING
§753-B. Procedure for issuing absentee ballot
1. Application or written request received. Upon receipt of an application or written request for an absentee ballot that is accepted pursuant to section 753-A, the clerk shall immediately issue an absentee ballot and return envelope by mail or in person to the applicant or to the immediate family member or to a 3rd person designated in a written application or request made by the voter, except that the clerk does not have to issue a ballot by mail to any voter whose request was received after 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before election day. The clerk shall type or write in ink the name and the residence address of the voter in the designated section of the return envelope.
[ 2009, c. 563, §2 (AMD) .]
2. Restrictions on issuing ballot. The clerk may not deliver an absentee ballot to any 3rd person who is a candidate or a member of a candidate's immediate family. The clerk may not deliver to an immediate family member or to a 3rd person any absentee ballot requested by telephone. The clerk may not issue more than 5 absentee ballots to any 3rd person designated in applications or written requests at any time.
[ 1999, c. 645, §6 (NEW) .]
3. Return of ballot by 3rd person. A 3rd person shall, unless good cause is shown, return an absentee ballot to the clerk's office within 2 business days of the date that ballot was provided to the 3rd person or by the close of the polls on election day, whichever is earlier. The clerk shall inform the 3rd person of the deadline for the return of the ballot.
[ 2001, c. 310, §52 (AMD) .]
4. Duplicate application. The clerk may issue a 2nd state absentee ballot to an applicant if the applicant requests one by an acceptable method outlined in this subchapter and:
A. The applicant states good cause, including, but not limited to, loss of, spoiling of or damage to the first absentee ballot; or [1999, c. 645, §6 (NEW).]
B. An absentee ballot for the applicant that was furnished to a designated 3rd person was not returned to the clerk's office within the time limit provided in subsection 3. If a ballot for an applicant is not returned to the clerk within that time limit, the clerk shall mail or hand deliver a ballot to that applicant and may not issue another ballot to the applicant except for good cause as provided in this subsection. This paragraph does not affect the deadline for delivery of absentee ballots under section 755. [2003, c. 447, §31 (AMD).]
The clerk may also issue a 2nd state absentee ballot to a voter from whom the clerk has received a return envelope apparently containing a state absentee ballot when the State has provided the clerk with replacement ballots to reflect the removal of a candidate's name or the addition of a new candidate's name or the correction of an error. When a 2nd state absentee ballot is issued to a voter under this section, the clerk must write the words "second ballot issued" on the return envelope.
[ 2003, c. 447, §31 (AMD) .]
5. Alternate method of balloting by residents of certain licensed facilities. The municipal clerk shall designate one or more times during the 30-day period prior to an election during which the municipal clerk shall be present in each licensed nursing home subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 405; licensed residential care facility subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 1664; and assisted housing program subject to the provisions of Title 22, chapter 1664, in the municipality for the purpose of conducting absentee voting by residents of these facilities. The licensed residential care facilities referred to in this subsection are those that are licensed as Level II facilities. The clerk shall designate which areas in these facilities constitute the voting place, the voting booth and the guardrail enclosure. Sections 681 and 682 apply to voting in these facilities within the areas designated by the clerk.
[ RR 2001, c. 2, Pt. A, §28 (COR) .]
6. Clerk to keep list of absentee voters. The clerk shall create and maintain, in the central voter registration system, an alphabetical list, by district, of the persons who requested or were furnished absentee ballots, including the persons who voted in the presence of the clerk under subsection 8 and the persons whose ballots were issued to a 3rd person under subsection 1. The clerk shall maintain a copy of the lists required under this subsection for a period of 2 years as a public record.
A. The list of absentee voters must include each voter's name, residence address, voting district and party affiliation; the date and manner by which the ballot was requested, issued and received; a notation of whether the application and the ballot were accepted or rejected; and a place for the registrar to certify the voter registration status of the absentee voters. The clerk must also indicate on the list when the absentee voter is a uniformed service voter, overseas voter or township voter. By the time that all absentee ballots have been processed on election day, the clerk must update the central voter registration system or annotate the printed list of absentee voters to reflect all ballots that were received by the close of the polls on election day, including a notation of whether the ballots were accepted or rejected and the reasons for such rejections. This list, reflecting all absentee ballots received by the close of the polls, must be made available for public inspection. Any absentee voter certified as a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to Title 5, section 90-B must be listed by the voter code assigned to that individual under the program instead of by the voter's name and reflect the Address Confidentiality Program address assigned to the voter. The list of absentee voters must be sorted so that the program participants appear at the end of the list and must be printed on a separate page of the list. The portion of the list of absentee voters relating to Address Confidentiality Program participants must be kept under seal and excluded from public inspection. [2005, c. 364, §7 (AMD).]
B. The clerk creates the list of absentee voters as required in paragraph A by marking the records of registered voters in the central voter registration system. The clerk must sign and date each official printed copy of the list of absentee voters that is created for public inspection, certifying that the list is a true and accurate list of absentee voters for the applicable election. No additional certification is required by the registrar of voters. [2005, c. 568, §18 (RPR).]
C. The clerk shall also keep a list of the 3rd persons designated in applications or written requests to whom absentee ballots are sent or delivered under subsection 1 and of the number of absentee ballots sent or delivered to them. This list of 3rd person ballot carriers must include telephone numbers for contacting the 3rd persons. [2001, c. 310, §54 (NEW).]
D. [2005, c. 364, §7 (RP).]
E. Within 5 business days after each election, the clerk shall update the central voter registration system to include the changes required by paragraph A. The clerk also must update the central voter registration system to reflect any absentee ballots received after the polls have closed on election day by changing the rejection reason. When all updates have been made in the central voter registration system, the clerk shall certify this to the Secretary of State and make a final list of absentee ballots available for public inspection. [2007, c. 515, §11 (AMD).]
[ 2007, c. 515, §11 (AMD) .]
7. Registration verified. If the applicant is registered and enrolled when necessary, the ballot must be sent to the applicant. If the applicant has registered and enrolled when necessary under section 155 and will attain 18 years of age on or before the date of the election, the registrar or clerk shall so certify on the application. If not, the registrar or clerk shall write "not registered" or "not enrolled" on the face of the application and sign the registrar's or clerk's name. Whenever an application for an absentee ballot is denied, the municipal clerk shall immediately notify the applicant in writing of the reason for the denial.
[ 1999, c. 645, §6 (NEW) .]
8. Absentee voting in presence of clerk. A person who wishes to vote by absentee ballot may, without completing an application, vote by absentee ballot in the presence of the clerk. The method of voting is otherwise as prescribed in this article. After the person has voted, the clerk shall sign the affidavit on the return envelope as a witness, indicate on the envelope that the voter voted in the presence of a clerk and ensure that the affidavit on the return envelope is properly completed by the voter. For the 45 days preceding an election, during the hours when the clerk's office is open and may be conducting absentee voting, the display or distribution of any advertising material intended to influence a voter's decision regarding a candidate or question on the ballot for that election is prohibited within the clerk's office and on public property within 250 feet of the entrance to the building in which the clerk's office is located.
This subsection does not apply to the display or distribution of any campaign advertising material on private property that is within 250 feet of the entrance to the building in which the clerk's office is located. For purposes of this section, "private property" includes privately owned property subject to a public right-of-way that is an easement right-of-way.
This subsection does not apply to campaign advertising material on automobiles traveling to and from the municipal office or parked on municipal property while the occupants are visiting the municipal office to conduct municipal business. It does not prohibit a person who is at the municipal office for the purpose of conducting municipal business or for absentee voting from wearing a campaign button when the longest dimension of the button does not exceed 3 inches.
[ 2009, c. 253, §48 (AMD) .]
SECTION HISTORY
1999, c. 645, §6 (NEW). RR 2001, c. 2, §A28 (COR). 2001, c. 310, §§52-54 (AMD). 2003, c. 407, §§24,25 (AMD). 2003, c. 447, §§30,31 (AMD). 2005, c. 364, §7 (AMD). 2005, c. 568, §§18,19 (AMD). 2007, c. 455, §41 (AMD). 2007, c. 515, §11 (AMD). 2009, c. 253, §48 (AMD). 2009, c. 563, §2 (AMD).