Absentee & “Paper” “Paper”

Ballots

Types of Absentee Ballots(issued by Town Clerks and Counted by Registrars)

1 Regular Full Ballot

  • Federal – State – Municipal Offices
  • Registered Electors unable to vote in person (mark voter list with Red A)

Military Service

Out of Town

Illness

Physical Disability

religious beliefs

Service as an election official in a polling area other than your own.

Sec 9-135

2 Official Blank Absentee Ballot

  • Federal – State – Municipal Offices ( ED-81a)
  • Registered Electors temporarily residing over seas or expecting to be traveling overseas and all servicemen, spouses and dependants whether living within or outside the U.S. Sec 9-153e
  • 90 day Military Blank Ballot
  • Registered Electors in Military Service, spouses and dependants with special military contingencies

3 Overseas Ballot.

  • Federal Offices Only. (ED-71)
  • Outside envelope will say “Overseas Ballot”
  • Not Registered
  • 18 years old
  • Residing outside the U.S.
  • Must be former resident of CT town immediately prior to moving outside the U.S. Sec 9-158a

4 Presidential Ballots

  • President / Vice President only (ED-31)
  • Resident of town,
  • Not registered

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  • Former resident – Voting Rights Act 1967 (mark Official Voter list with REDPF)
  • Moved within 30 days prior to election to another location after new locations cut-off date. Sec 9-158a

5 Emergency Absentee Ballot

  • Issued only on Election – PrimaryDay
  • Registered Electors who were planning on voting in person.

Became very ill within 6 days from Election Day.

  • Only certain individuals may carry these ( call Registrar of Voters )
  • Federal – State – Municipal Offices (mark Official Voter list with REDEB)

Types of Special Paper Ballots

(Ballots issued by Registrars to be done in the Polling Place)

  1. Emergency Paper Ballot
  2. Sec 9-263 states that no ballots will be counted unlessNO voting machine are able to be used. All voting machines must be broken. All provisions of the statute have been complied with
  3. Now that all of our ballots are paper based – this would be used if we run out of ballots. They would be put into the auxiliary bin and “Hand Counted” at the end of voting, if no tabulator is available or if these ballots were photocopied. The tabulator cannot read a photocopied ballot.

Sec 9-263

  1. “ Regular Paper Ballot for people with Disabilities” (Voter’s Choice)
  2. These ballots can be used for “Curb Side Voting” Where the Elector, who made it to the Polling Place but cannot get into the building.
  3. Send 2 Assistant Registrars out to help Elector vote his ballot.
  4. Use a privacy folder.
  5. Use same process for voting in person (see ID – Check name on voter list)
  6. Must be processed in the Tabulator after the Elector has filled out the ballot.

Sec 9-264 b

  1. Challenged Ballot
  • Used only to challenge someone right to vote for conviction of Felony
  • Identity – not who they say they are
  • Addresses – does not live where he says he does.
  • Application done by Elector & Moderator (mark official voter list with RedCB )
  • Record in diary
  • Does not count only court system will order it to be counted.

But do not tell the voter. Sec 9-170, 9-171, 9-172, 9-232, 9-431

  1. Provisional Ballot
  • Only during Federal Elections ( Even numbered years when we elected federal offices such as

US Senator or US Representative)

  • Anyone who is not on your Active or In-Active lists and cannot be restored

to be Active

  • Anyone who just wants to vote and insists that they should be on the

voters list.

  • Anyone with an asterisk * next to their name and does not have ID

Absentee procedures and some simple rejections:

  • Town Clerks issue Absentee Ballots
  • When absentee ballots are returned from the Elector they are signed into the Town Clerks officeby an endorsement. This is a date stamp of time and date and signature of the Town Clerk.
  • Up until Election Day Registrars will pre mark the Official Voter list with the A in front of the

Electors Name, so as to show that the Elector has voted by Absentee Ballot.

  • When doing this if we see that a ballot has not be endorsed, we will hand it to the Town Clerk

and get it endorsed. The Voter has not lost their right to vote.

  • If this gets by us and it is Election Day and you see that it is not endorsed than you

MUST reject the ballot. Write on the envelope “not endorsed–Rejected” - sign your name.

  • On Election Day the Town Clerks turns the absentee ballots over to the Registrars by 10 AM.

If an Elector has voted by absentee ballot and now wants to vote in person they must go

to the Office of the Town Clerk and get the absentee ballot rescinded. With a letter from

thetown clerk they will be allow to vote in person.

  • It is the choice of the Registrars the type of counting of ballots they will do.

When counting Ballots

Inside envelope

Ballot must be in inside envelope or REJECTED

If ballot and no inside envelope _ REJECTED

Has place for signature and date

Does not have to be sealed

Does not have to have date

But if it appears that there is NO signature on it than REJECTED

If 2 inside envelopes – we can match outside envelope to signature of inside envelope and count that one - other one REJECTED

If inside envelop has 2 ballots – REJECTED

Remember CYA -

Write all your decisions on the ballot so that the next person has somewhere to start.

It makes things run more smoothly.

Use of Provisional Ballots for Absentee Ballots - only for one usage …….

If an Absentee, first time voter, is rejected because of not producing a valid ID

and you have checked way down to the inner envelope, than it is REJECTED.

You must place this ballot in a Provisional envelope and send to the Registrars to verify the

Federal Offices only after the close of the polls.

District Countingof Absentee Ballots

This is done in every districts Polling Place in the same room as the voting.

But over in a corner – not so the public can observe.

It is the District Moderator who will assist in the decisions for these ballots.

Any absentee Ballots received prior to the deadline may have been previously marked on the official check list with a RED “ A ”in front of the name to designate that this voter has voted by absentee ballot.

If there are other ballots that are to be counted, the Absentee Counters or the Assistant Registrar as the case may be will mark off the official check list with a RED “ A ” in front of the name.

The deadline for withdrawing an absentee ballot is 10:00AM on Election Day.

The Elector must present a note signed with the date & time by the Town Clerk in order to vote in

person.

Central Countingof Absentee Ballots:

All Absentee Ballots are counted in one central location (not at the individual Polling places)

Any absentee ballot received prior to the deadline have been previously marked on the

official check list ( at the polling place ) & the duplicate absentee official list (kept with the

absentee counters) with an RED “A”in front of the name( todesignate absentee ballot )

If a other ballots are received to be counted Central Absentee Moderator or the Registrars

Will call into each polling place with the additional names to be marked off the

official check list with a RED “A”in front of the name. (prior to the counting of the ballots)

All Counting personal must stay until 8 PM or when the ballots are completed even if after 8 PM.

The Assistant Registrars in each polling Place will mark the list in the polling Place with a RED “A”

in front of the name.

The Absentee Counters or the Moderator at central Counting will mark their list with a RED “A”

in front of the name before counting the new ballots.

Most important …

The secrecy of the Absentee Ballot results must be preserved until the close of the polls @ 8 PM

If your counters of Absentees leave the central counting area or the district area they can NOT go to a

Political Party Headquarters

Points to remember …

If you are doing Central Counting of Absentee Ballots -your district Moderator Returns

  1. Will have NO Certificate of Absentee Ballots filled out ( leave this blank )
  2. NO Tally of Absentee Ballot counts are recorded on the tally sheet.
  3. On the Official Checkers Certificate regarding … names checked as having been checked for absentee ballot, this total is always zero “O” !! Better yet - is not to have that statement.
  4. If you do not touch Absentee Ballots than you do not record anything about Absentee Voting or Absentee Ballots.

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