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ABSENTEE BALLOT INFORMATION
REASONS FOR VOTING ABSENTEE
Sections 17-11-1 through 17-11-19, 17-9-51, and 17-17-24 through 17-17-27, Code of Alabama (1975), govern absentee voting in all primary, general, special and municipal elections in the State of Alabama. These laws specifically supersede all other laws relating to absentee voting.
Section 17-11-3, Code of Alabama 1975, provides that any qualified elector of this state may apply for and vote an absentee ballot by mail, commercial carrier provided the clerk receives absentee applications by mail not less than seven (7) days prior to the election. Applications returned by hand must be received no less than five (5) days prior to the election. Section 17-11-3(b), Code of Alabama 1975.
In addition to the requirements above, the applicant must also meet one of the following requirements:
1. The person will be out of the municipality on election day.
2. The person has any physical illness or infirmity which prevents their attendance at the polls, whether they are within or without the county on the day of the election.
3. The person expects to work on a shift which has at least 10 hours which coincide with the hours the polls are open at their regular polling place.
4. The person is enrolled as a student at an educational institution located outside the county of their personal residence attendance at which prevents his or her attendance at the polls.
5. The person is a member of, or spouse or dependent of a member of, the armed forces of the United States or is similarly qualified to vote absentee pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 52 U.S.C. 20301-20311.
6. The person has been appointed as an election officer or named as a poll watcher at a polling place other than their regular polling place.
7. The person is a caregiver for a family member to the second degree of kinship by affinity or consanguinity and the family member is confined to their home.
8. The person is incarcerated in prison or jail and has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, as provided in Section 17-3-30.1. Section 17-11-3(a), Code of Alabama 1975.
EMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOTS
A registered voter who requires emergency treatment of a licensed physician within 5 days of the election may apply for an emergency absentee ballot. The person must return the absentee ballot no later than noon on the day the election is held. The attendant physician must describe and certify the circumstances constituting the emergency on a special form designated by the Secretary of State and provided to local absentee election managers. The special form must be attached to the application. Section 17-11-13(d), Code of Alabama 1975. In addition to a medical emergency requiring treatment within five (5) days of the election, the following additional situations make a voter eligible for emergency absentee voting: 1. The voter is required by their employer under unforeseen circumstances within five days before an election to be unavailable to vote at the polls on election day; 2. The voter is a caregiver of a person who requires emergency treatment by a licensed physician within five days of the election; or 3. A family member to the second degree of kinship (i.e., parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild) by affinity or consanguinity of the voter dies within five days of the election. Section 17-11-3(e)(1)(c), Code of Alabama 1975.