Municipal election voter registration deadline August 12

News

Wednesday, 24 July 2024 14:32

Deadlines for the upcoming municipal elections are fast approaching. The last day to register to vote in the August 27 municipal election, online, by mail or in person is August 12. Registration can be completed online by visiting sos.alabama.gov. To register in person or by mail, contact the Jackson County Board of Registrars office, located 102 East Laurel Street, or call 256-574-9339.

Absentee voting is available if a voter meets any of the criteria. If a voter qualifies, they need to request a mail-in ballot either: five days before the election if applying in person, or seven days before if mailing the request. Make sure the voted ballot is received by: noon on election day if mailing it, or by the end of the day prior to election day if dropping it off in person.

Voters can only use the official absentee ballot application form, found at sos.alabama.gov or at each town/city hall throughout Jackson County. Fill out the form and send it to the Absentee Election Manager’s office in your municipality by mail or in person.

Voters need to submit the application in person, unless they’ve designated someone else to do it for them in case of a medical emergency. Make sure to complete this within five days of the election. If the absentee ballot application is approved, the absentee election manager forwards the absentee ballot by U.S. Mail or personally hands the absentee ballot to the voter (or to a designee in the case of emergency voting).

Voters can return the absentee ballot: By U.S. mail; by personally handing the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (or designee in case of medical emergency absentee voting); by commercial carrier.

The voted absentee ballot must be postmarked by the day before the election and be received by noon on Election Day. If handing it in personally, make sure to give the ballot to the Absentee Election Manager’s office before the end of the business day (by 5 p.m.) on the day before the election.

Voters may cast an absentee ballot if they: Will be absent from the county on Election Day; are ill or have a physical disability that prevents a trip to the polling place; are a registered Alabama voter living outside the county; are an appointed election officer or poll watcher at a polling place other than your regular polling place; are working a required shift of ten hours or more that coincides with polling hours; are a caregiver for a family member (to the second degree of kinship) and the family member is confined to their home; are not barred from voting because of a disqualifying felony conviction or, if you were convicted of a disqualifying felony, you have had your right to vote restored.

If you have an urgent work issue or a medical emergency and missed the deadline to vote by mail, you can still apply to vote late. Just make sure to do it before 5:00 p.m. the day before the election for work emergencies, or before noon on the day of the election for medical emergencies. Voters may use this option if: They are required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on Election Day for an emergency business trip; are a caregiver of a person who requires emergency treatment by a licensed physician within 5 days before an election; have a family member to the second degree of kinship by affinity or consanguinity die within 5 days before an election; have a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician.

If voting with an absentee ballot, voters must submit a copy of a valid photo ID. If you are entitled to vote absentee through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, or any other federal law, you are not required to show the photo ID when voting absentee.

If you require assistance voting your absentee ballot due to blindness, a disability, or inability to read or write, you may receive assistance from another individual of your choosing other than your employer, an agent of your employer, or an agent or officer of your union. Your absentee voting application must be signed by you and a witness.

To apply for an absentee ballot for the City of Scottsboro Municipal Election, please contact Whitney Phillips, Absentee Election Manager by visiting 316 S. Broad Street in Scottsboro or by calling 256-912-0502.