20A-3-408 - Voting of ballot by military or overseas citizen voter.
20A-3-408. Voting of ballot by military or overseas citizen voter.
(1) (a) The military or overseas citizen voter shall:
(i) upon receipt of the ballot, mark it in secret;
(ii) seal it in the ballot envelope provided for that purpose; and
(iii) execute the registration and voting certificate and mailing affidavit on the back ofthe envelope.
(b) (i) If the military or overseas citizen voter is physically disabled so as to be unable tosee or write, he may request assistance from two persons, each of whom shall be qualified tocertify to the registration and voting certificate.
(ii) The military or overseas citizen voter shall tell those persons how he wishes hisballot marked.
(iii) Those persons shall mark the ballot as directed by the military or overseas citizenvoter in his presence.
(iv) One of the persons assisting the military or overseas citizen voter shall:
(A) read to the voter the registration and voting certificate upon the ballot;
(B) fill in its blanks as the voter directs; and
(C) sign, on the line provided for the signature of the voter, the name of the voter and hisown name.
(2) (a) The ballot shall be sent by any available mail service to the county clerk whoissued it.
(b) The military or overseas citizen voter is not required to return the ballot by registeredmail.
(3) The ballot is not valid unless:
(a) (i) it is clearly postmarked by the appropriate military post office, the Fleet PostOffice (FPO) or the Army/Air Force Post Office (APO), before election day and received in theoffice of the election officer before noon on the day of the official canvass following the election;or
(ii) the voter has signed the mailing affidavit on the back of the ballot envelope and theballot is received in the office of the election officer before noon on the day of the officialcanvass following the election.
(b) The county clerk shall cause a mailing affidavit to be printed on the back of the ballotenvelope that is in substantially the following form:
"I certify that I am/may be unable to obtain a proper postmark and, subject to penalty oflaw for false statements, swear or affirm that this ballot was voted and mailed before the day ofthe election.
Signature of
Voter______________________________________________________________
Date____________________________________________________________________
To be signed when voter is physically unable to see or write:
______________________________________________________Signature ofadditional witness who is a commissioned, noncommissioned, or petty officer not below the rankof sergeant or its equivalent, or another person authorized to administer oaths who does swear,under penalty of law for false statements, that at the request of _____________________(nameof the voter), I completed the mailing affidavit because the voter was unable to see or writebecause of a physical disability."
Amended by Chapter 112, 2002 General Session