Marshall County Clerk Deb VanDeMark alerted the Election Board members Friday morning that 506 absentee ballots have been requested so far for the June 2 Primary Election.
She stressed that those who receive their application must sign the paperwork properly and that the signature on the ballot must match the signature on the application or it may be rejected. The Election Board members did reject a ballot Friday morning as a voter initialed the application and fully signed the ballot. The signatures must match. That voter will be notified of the rejected ballot and have the opportunity to begin the process again.
VanDeMark said there is plenty of time to send in an application to receive a mail-in absentee ballot for this year’s Primary Election. The deadline to receive an absentee ballot application by mail is Thursday, May 21.
In this year’s Primary Election, all voters may vote absentee by mail without an excuse. Typically, the voter must name a reason why he or she won’t physically be at the polling site on Election Day, but the Indiana Election Division relaxed those rules for this upcoming election only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Election officials are encouraging mail-in absentee voting if voters may feel uncomfortable being at a polling site on Election Day.
