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Absentee Ballots: How They Work

Explanations about absentee ballots are available on many municipal websites, provided with varying degrees of clarity.

The process of voting by absentee ballot takes several steps.

This year, in Connecticut, the Secretary of the State’s Office will send an application for an absentee ballot to every eligible voter.

First the voter, using the application, applies for an absentee ballot. Those applications are sent into the town clerk, who process them.

This year a mail firm contracted by the secretary of the state will send out the absentee ballots to the voters, after the applications are processed by the town clerks.

The voter then fills out the ballot, following the procedure outlined below. The voter will then deposit the finished ballot in a secure drop box that will be provided to every municipality, or the voter can mail it in, submitting it by the requisite deadline.

This year, the secretary of the state will offer a grant program so that municipalities will be able to pay for the extra cost of processing the ballots. Since it’s anticipated that more absentee ballots may be cast, that may also require that additional people be hired to help do the work, for example.

Pre-paid postage also will be provided by the state, so that neither voters nor the towns will have to pay for that.

Secretary of the State Denise Merill also will conduct a public information campaign to encourage voters to fill out their applications for absentee ballots as early as possible, which should help ease the burden on the offices of town clerks.

How to Fill it Out

The full application to receive the absentee ballot must be completed in pen. The original application, not a copy, must be returned to the municipal clerk’s office, and it must include the voter’s name, date of birth, address, and at least one means of contact, such as telephone number or email.

The voter can then specify that he or she wants his or her ballot mailed, and specify the address to which it should be mailed. The voter then specifies whether the application is for an election, a primary, or a referendum, and gives the date of the voting event, and, if it’s a primary, specifies the political party in which the voter is eligible to vote.

The voter then provides the reason for eligibility; the current list of reasons includes “my illness.” The application must then be signed and dated, and delivered or mailed to the municipal clerk’s office.

The absentee ballot itself will then come to the voter as part of a packet that includes detailed instructions, the ballot itself, an inner envelope, and an outer envelope. The ballot must be filled out completely by fully filling in the bubble next to the candidate of choice. Then the ballot goes into the inner envelope, which has a large letter “B” on it. The envelope should be sealed, then dated, and signed. The vote will not be counted if the envelope is not dated and signed.

Then the sealed and signed inner envelope goes into the outer envelope, which has a serial number, along with the voter’s name and address printed on it. Then the outer envelope must be sealed and mailed to the municipal clerk before the specified deadline.