INSTRUCTIONS FOR OBTAINING ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND EMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR THE TOWN OF CHESTERTOWN ELECTION ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017
1. ABSENTEE BALLOTS
ABSENTEE BALLOTS may be obtained for the Town Election by persons who are unable to go to polls for any of the reasons allowed by the State of Maryland Election Laws. Any person who knows in advance of the November 7, 2017 Election Day that they will be unable to go to the polls to vote should follow the following steps:
- Request an Application for an Absentee Ballot. Applications for Absentee Ballots must be received at the Town Hall by Wednesday, November 1, 2017. This request may be made:
a) In person at the Town Office, 118 N. Cross Street;
b) By calling 410-778-0500;
c) By fax (410-778-4378) and requesting one, or;
d) By having an authorized individual pick up the application. The full name and address of each person requesting an application for an absentee ballot must be registered in the Town Office.
- The application should be completed, signed by the absentee voter and returned by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 to the Town Office. An absentee voter package will be mailed to the applicant with instructions on how to mark the ballot and return it for counting.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ONCE YOU HAVE REQUESTED AND RECEIVED AN ABSENTEE BALLOT, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO VOTE AT THE POLLS ON ELECTION DAY. HOWEVER, YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT MAY BE DELIVERED TO THE POLLS ON ELECTION DAY. IF YOUR BALLOT IS MAILED, IT MUST BE POSTMARKED BY NOVEMBER 6, 2017 AND RECEIVED BY 4:00 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017.
- EMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOTS
The election laws also provide for EMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOTS after the regular absentee ballot deadline of Wednesday, November 1, 2017 until Election Day. Any person who finds that they have one of the emergencies allowed by the State of Maryland (and shown on the application for an emergency absentee ballot) may apply for a ballot using the following process:
- Request an Emergency Absentee Ballot. This request can be made:
a) In person at the Town Office, 118 N. Cross Street
b) By calling the Town Office at 410-778-0500 (Monday thru Friday, though it is up to the applicant to allow enough time to receive the application and return it if they are using the mail system);
c) By sending an authorized agent to obtain the application;
d) Requesting an application in writing is allowed but not recommended due to the one week period between November 1, 2017 and Election Day. However, faxing would be possible following the warning in b).
2) The application then must be completed, signed by the absentee voter
and returned to the Town Office prior to Election Day.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ON ELECTION DAY APPLICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOTS MUST BE PICKED UP AT THE POLLS (211 MAPLE AVENUE) FROM A MEMBER OF THE TOWN’S BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ELECTIONS. THE STEPS ARE THEN THE SAME AS THE ONES FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS, WITH THE FINAL FILLED-OUT BALLOT BEING RETURNED TO THE POLLS. ALL ABSENTEE BALLOTS WHICH ARE RETURNED BY HAND BY 8:00 P.M. ON ELECTION DAY SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORTS OF ELECTIONS AT THE POLLS – NOT TO THE TOWN HALL.
Chair
Chestertown Board of Election Supervisors