Absentee Voters Increasing Daily in Maine

I am the Deputy Registrar of Voters and Deputy Town Clerk for our town. I maintain the voter list which now has state wide access. I have joined the state full of clerks that have entered names, birthdates, addresses and party enrollments of all registered voters into a database. I can type in a voters name and birth date and quickly learn if that person is already registered in another municipality. This is one secure way to stop people from sneaking off to other towns to vote.

In the past fifteen to twenty days we've had nearly a hundred voters apply for absentee ballots. The state of Maine has a "no excuse" voting system. This means a voter does not need an excuse to be able to request to vote absentee. In Maine you can vote absentee if you are overseas, in the military, school or serving as a missionary or volunteer. You can also vote absentee if you simply do not want to go out into the crowd on Election Day. This is convenient for parents of young children, people with long business hours, truckers and the elderly. At this point I can't imagine what kind of turn out we will have on Election Day . I think it will be a heavy turn out. The state of Maine has issued 70,000 absentee ballots as of Wednesday, October 15th, and has received over 29,000 ballots back so far.

A voter has to call, write or come in person to our town office and request a ballot. It is important that anyone who contacts a political party for an "I want to vote absentee card" be made aware that they have to have the address and information as listed in our records or we can not let them vote absentee. The voter really should contact their registrar personally. The Registrar which is also our Town Clerk (and my mother) makes out paper work which records how they requested their ballot, what time the request came in and how it is to be delivered to the voter. A ballot can be picked up by the voter, spouse, parent or it can be mailed. In some instances a third person such as a representative from a nursing home can come in and pick up ballots for 5 residents at a time. The third party must sign paperwork to be allowed to do this. I then enter the voters name in the computer and record that they have requested to vote absentee. Next the Registrar makes out an envelope for the person to mail the ballot back to the office. She then packs the ballot and the return envelope into a mailing envelope. We also have a school ballot with referendums so a second set of envelopes must be made out. The next step is a trip to the post office. The Registrar must record the time and date of the mailing. I also record this in the computer records.

We have received 30 to 40 ballots back so far. The time it is either picked up at the post office or arrives at the town office gets recorded first. I must then go to the computer and also record this information. I then check off that we accept the ballot. All ballots remain in the sealed envelopes from the voter. It is against the law for us to open the envelopes. They are locked in a vault until Election Day. Oh, Election Day, that will be a whole new series of responsibilities. For now we still have more absentee voters to serve, a mock election to conduct with Middle School students and a test for our accessible equipment to undertake first. We are not out in the crowds shaking hands, eating chicken dinners or giving speeches but we are a busy group of election people too. My mother is paid one hundred dollars a year for the position of Registrar. I am a volunteer.

If you are interested in voting absentee call your Registrar and inquire if there is a specific deadline that your state has set up for absentee voting. You should also ask if your state requires a voter to have an 'excuse' to vote absentee.