Vote By Mail Important Things to Know About Voting by Mail Vote Early How to Register to Vote Where You Live Don't Let Your Job Keep You from Voting

Vote Early Vote By Mail You Can Vote Without Going to the Polls

Published by the Office of the Secretary of State
Deborah L. Markowitz

VOTE BY MAIL

Are you registered to vote
in the town where you live?

If the answer is yes, then you can vote by mail. It is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Call or write your town clerk to request an “absentee ballot”.
2. Your town clerk will mail you a ballot within thirty days of the election.
3. Fill out the ballot, sign the inner envelope, and return it in the specially marked envelope.

For more information on voting, how to reach your clerk, or to request this brochure in an alternative format call the Secretary of State’s Office at 1-800-439-8683 or visit our website at www.sec.state.vt.us.

Important Things to Know About Voting by Mail:

Family Can Help. With your permission, a family member or friend may request an absentee ballot on your behalf. A family member or friend can also return your completed ballot to the polling place on Election Day.

Make A New Request Each Election. A request to be mailed a ballot must be renewed before each election. One request can cover both the state primary and general elections in a particular year.

Request Your Ballot Early. Make sure you allow enough time for your ballot to be sent to you and returned to the town clerk before the polls close on Election Day.

Send Your Ballot Back In Plenty Of Time. For your vote to count your ballot must be received before the close of polls on Election Day –so be sure to send it back leaving plenty of time for the post office to do its work!

VOTE EARLY
You don’t have to wait until
November 7th Election Day to vote!

Stop in at your town clerk’s office anytime after October 8th to cast your ballot.

The polls may not open until Election Day but you can vote at your Town Clerk’s Office during office hours anytime thirty days before Election Day. (22 days before local elections.)

Important Deadlines:

• 5:00 p.m. on November 6th (the day before the election,) or before the town clerk’s office closes, is the last time a voter may personally request an absent voter ballot.
  
  
• 12:00 noon on November 6th (the day before the election) is the last time a person may request an absentee ballot on another voter’s behalf.

How to Register to Vote Where You Live.

To vote you must be registered in the town where you live. The deadline for registration is 12:00 noon on October 28th. Call your clerk or the Secretary of State’s Office to find out how to register. Apply for your absentee ballots at the same time you register!

More Information For Voters
Who Are Ill Or Have Physical Disabilities

Besides the option of voting by mail, voters who are ill or physically disabled may ask that justices of the peace deliver ballots to them. Justices will help voters to mark their ballots if the voter is physically unable to do so. Information about how a voter voted or the manner in which it was cast is strictly confidential! For more information on poll access, please call 1-800-439-8683.

To have the ballot hand delivered, you must inform your town clerk no later than three days before the election!

Don't Let Your Job Keep You from Voting!

The most common reason Vermonters give for not voting is that they can’t get to the polls on Election Day or that they don’t have time to wait in long lines to vote.

This year you can vote without waiting in lines at the polls. You can vote by mail or by visiting your town clerk in the weeks proceeding the election.

Voting is important. It gives you a chance to effect the future of our state. The people we elect decide how our tax dollars are spent and what we do about important issues such as education, health care and our environment.

Remember your vote can make a difference!

You can vote early – or vote by mail.
However you decide to do it . . . just vote!

Deb Markowitz
Secretary of State