Thursday, May 31, is the deadline for Alabama voters to apply for an absentee ballot for the June 5 Republican and Democratic primary elections.
Escambia County Circuit Clerk John Robert Fountain said absentee ballots must be returned to his office by June 4. Absentee ballots mailed will be accepted if postmarked June 4 or before.
As of Tuesday, Fountain said he had given out 25 absentee ballot applications and 12 ballots have been returned. He noted he had to send three applications back because the voter did not declare which party's ballot they wanted.
Fountain said voters must mark on the application whether they want a Democratic or Republican ballot.
Absentee voting applications are available at Fountain's office at the courthouse in Brewton. Applications can also be downloaded from the secretary of state's website at http://www.alabamavotes.gov.
A completed application must be returned by the voter in person or sent by U.S. mail. No one, not even a family member, can return another person's application. Multiple applications cannot be mailed in the same envelope.
Fountain said it's important that voters complete all of the information on the affidavit of the absentee voter envelope. Voter identification instructions will accompany each absentee ballot and must be carefully followed to ensure that the ballot meets the requirement of the law.
If the voter's affidavit is not signed (or marked) and if the affidavit is not witnessed by two witnesses 18 years of age or older or notarized by a notary public prior to being delivered or mailed to the absentee election manager, the ballot will not be counted.
For more information, contact Fountain at 251-867-0225.
