Article by Catherine Davies
You probably know that you can do “absentee voting.” If you haven’t actually done it yourself, you probably assume that it is easy for qualified voters to do. I created the list below from my own experience of voting absentee twice in Alabama (in Nov of 2020 and in the last municipal election). I invite you to read the list below and ask yourself if this is easy for ANYBODY to accomplish, let alone somebody who is infirm or disabled.
13 things that you need to know, have, or do in order to successfully vote absentee in Alabama
- Internet access. Going onlineis the easiest way to check your registration information on the Secretary of State website, to check the due dates for everything, to locate an absentee ballot application that you can download to print, to find the address to send the ballot, and then later to check online to see the status of your application. NOTE: You could also use a phone to call the registrar about these things, but if you need to ask them to send you a ballot application, you must allow enough time (for them to send the application, for you to send it back, for them to send you the ballot, and for you to send the ballot back).
- ID number. A driver’s license or social security number is required on the absentee ballot application.
- A “legitimate” excuse. On the ballot application, you must choose from among the 9 “legitimate” excuses. It is unclear whether the truth of what you claim is ever checked by officials (for example, if you say that you will be out of town, how will they know if that was actually true?) It is, however, illegal to lie on official documents.
- An acceptable form of ID. This must be copied and the copy must accompany the absentee ballot application. Here is a list of acceptable forms of ID provided on the Secretary of State website: (add link).
- A printer/copier: You need to print out your absentee ballot application, then to make a copy of your required ID to accompany your application, and then to make a copy for your records.
- An envelope and stamp. In this case, one first-class stamp will probably be enough to mail your absentee ballot application. You need to have a way to buy both envelopes and stamps.
- A way to get your envelope into the mail. This may seem easy, but for somebody like me living in an apartment complex, there is no mailbox where I can put the flag up and leave a letter for the postal carrier to collect. That means that I have to either find a mailbox (and they seem to be disappearing from the landscape) or actually go to the Post Office.
- Confidence in the Postal Service to deliver the mail on time. Whereas we generally get dependable delivery, there could be a problem if you wait too long to mail your absentee ballot application. If it doesn’t arrive on time, you are out of luck.
- A BLACK ball point pen. This is specified in the instructions for marking the ballot once you have received it. You must follow the instructions carefully on how to do the marking in the little hollow circles, or it could be invalidated
- Proper sequencing for sealing envelopes. After you have placed your ballot in the white secrecy envelope and sealed it, you must place the secrecy envelope inside the white affidavit envelope and also seal that.
- Two witnesses. After you fill out your affidavit that is printed on the sealed envelope, you need to find two witnesses who can watch you sign it and then sign and write their names and addresses on the sealed affidavit envelope
Good luck.
