(My apologies to my readers who do not reside in Alabama. However, this information has not been widely advertised in Alabama; I just learned about this when I found it online. There are new absentee voting rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please share this information with like minded Alabama voters, especially those who are most at risk from the COVID-19 virus.  The process is somewhat complicated, so please help those, especially the elderly and those who don’t have the necessary computer equipment, who would have trouble navigating these procedures on their own.)

Normally in Alabama a registered voter can only submit a legal absentee ballot under a limited set of conditions when the voter: Expects to be out of his/her county the day of the election, is ill or has a physical disability, is a registered voter living outside of his/her county (military personal, college students, etc.), expects to work 10 or more hours on election day, is a caregiver to a family member, or is incarcerated, but not a convicted felon.

However, due to the COVID pandemic, the Alabama Secretary of State has issued an emergency ruling that allows anyone who has concerns about voting in person due to the pandemic to cast an absentee ballot for the general election November 3, 2020.

The exact wording of the of the ruling is as follows:

Absentee Voting During State of Emergency – General Election 2020

(1) Pursuant to 17-11-3(d) of the Code of Alabama, and and without limitation, due to the State of Emergency issued by the Governor of Alabama on march 13,2020, as amended, any qualified voter who determines it is impossible or unreasonable to vote at their voting place for the General Election on November 3, 2020 due to the declared states of emergency, shall be eligible to check the box on the absentee ballot application which reads as follows:

   “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls (ID REQUIRED)

(2) Any qualified voter of this state who applies and successfully submits an application, with proper identification, for an absentee ballot pursuant to this Emergency Administration Rule shall be eligible to vote an absentee ballot for the General Election on November 3, 2020.

There is third section (3) which says that poll officials have to accept such absentee ballots as valid.

How to Vote Absentee:

So if you are a registered Alabama voter and you aren’t comfortable voting in person Nov. 3rd, voting an absentee ballot is rather complicated even if you have the proper computer equipment:

1. Go to the Alabama Absentee Voting Information website or simply click on the following link (in blue): Absentee Voting
2. There you will see a link to “Absentee Ballot Application”.  You can click on that link to download and print an absentee ballot form.  You can also do this directly by clicking on the following link (in blue): Absentee Ballot Application form
3. Once you have printed out the absentee form, fill it out and check the box states: “I have a physical illness or infirmity with prevent my attendance at the polls. [ID Required]” Note: ID REQUIRED means that you must include a copy of your Alabama driver’s license or other eligible ID when you send in your application for an absentee ballot.  (If you don’t have a scanner, you will have to your ID copied by someone who has a scanner and printer or by going to a business like UPS that can copy your ID for you for you.)
4. Then mail the application form and a copy of your ID to Absentee Election Manager for your county.  A link to a list of County absentee election managers and their addresses is available on the Absentee Voting Information webpage or you can click directly on the following link (in blue): Election County Managers:

Time Requirements:

According to the Absentee Voting Information website the following is the timeline requirements for requesting and submitting your absentee ballot.  However, you need to request and return your absentee ballot well before these deadlines. If you wait to the last minute postal delays will probably mean your ballot will not be counted. Allow at least 10 days for each postal delivery:

Absentee ballot applications must be received in the office of the Absentee Election Manager for your county no later than the 5th day prior to the election. 

An absentee ballot returned by mail must be postmarked no later than the day prior to the election and received by the Absentee Election Manager no later than noon on election day. If hand-delivered, the ballot must be in the office of the Absentee Election Manager by the close of business (but no later than 5 p.m.) on the day prior to the election.

Voting Absentee Once Absentee Ballot Is Received:

The following is copied directly from the Absentee Voting Information website:

Ballot Procedure

The absentee ballot comes with three envelopes — one plain (the secrecy envelope), one with an affidavit, or oath, printed on the outside, and one plain envelope, pre-addressed (the outer envelope). Once the voter casts the ballot, the procedure is as follows:

• Seal the ballot in the plain envelope
• Place the plain envelope inside the accompanying affidavit envelope
• Seal the affidavit envelope and complete the affidavit that is on the outside of the envelope
• Sign the affidavit and have the signature witnessed by either a notary public or two witnesses 18 years of age or older

Witnesses or Notarization  
An absentee ballot cannot be counted unless the affidavit is notarized or has the signatures of two witnesses.

The voter has only the following legal ways to return the absentee ballot:

• forwards the absentee ballot by U.S. Mail
• forwards the absentee ballot by a commercial carrier
• personally hands the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (or delivers by a designee in the case of emergency absentee voting)

Those Who Do Not Have the Necessary Computer Equipment Will Need Help

As you can imagine, those do not have access to the necessary computer equipment or don’t know how to download and print forms online (the poor, the elderly, etc.), will be unable to deal with these procedures, or even know that they exist. There are procedures where they can obtain their application forms and fill them out in person at the office of their county Absentee Voting Manager, but that may not always be possible or feasible.  Usually unless they receive our help they will either not be able to vote Nov. 3^rd or will have to unnecessarily expose themselves to this deadly virus.  Neither is a good option.  It is up to us to help them vote absentee if that help is needed.

Again, all of this information is available on the following link:  Absentee Voting Information/Alabama Secretary of State  I am simply trying to advertise this information and have, to the my best of my ability, tried to supply it in a more useable form.

Cajun (Rick Guilbeau)    7/28/2020