§ 2532. Authorized applicants; application form; duplicates

(a) Authorized applicants.

(1) An early or absentee voter, or an authorized family member or health care provider acting in the voter’s behalf, may apply for an early voter absentee ballot by telephone, in person, or in writing. As used in this subsection, “family member” means a person’s spouse, children, brothers, sisters, parents, spouse’s parents, grandparents, and spouse’s grandparents.

(2) Any other authorized person may apply in writing or in person; provided, however, that voter authorization to such a person shall not be given by response to a robotic phone call.

(b) Form of application.

(1) The application shall be in substantially the following form:

REQUEST FOR EARLY VOTER ABSENTEE BALLOT

Name of early or absentee voter: _________________________________________
Voter‘s Town of Residence: _________________________________________
Current physical address (address where you reside): _________________________________________
_________________________________________
Telephone Number: ___________ E-mail Address: _______________________________________________________________________
Date: _________________________________________
I request early voter absentee ballot(s) for the election(s) checked below:
(1) Annual Town Meeting;
(2) All other local elections;
(3) August Primary Election;
(4) Presidential Primary (YOU MUST SELECT PARTY);
(5) November General Election;
(6) All elections in this calendar year.
Please deliver the ballot(s) as indicated below (check one):
(1) Mail to voter at: _________________________________________
Street or P.O. Box Town/City State Zip Code
(2) Delivery by two Justices of the Peace (this may only be selected if you are ill, injured, or have a disability).
If applicant is other than early or absentee voter:
Name of applicant: _________________________________________
Address of applicant: _________________________________________
Relationship to early or absentee voter: _________________________________________
Organization, if applicable: _________________________________________
Date: _________________________________________ Signature of applicant: _________________________________________

(2) If the application is made by telephone or in writing, the information supplied shall be in substantial conformance with the information requested on this form.

(c) Simultaneous voter registration.

(1) If a person makes a simultaneous request to register to vote and to apply for an early voter absentee ballot or if the request for an early voter absentee ballot is made for a person who is not yet registered and the town clerk receives the request prior to the deadline to apply for early voter absentee ballots set forth in section 2531 of this subchapter, the town clerk shall mail a blank voter registration application, together with a full set of early voter absentee ballots, to that person.

(2) An official federal postcard application shall suffice as a simultaneous application to register to vote and for an early voter absentee ballot.

(3)(A) All voter registration applications that are returned to the town clerk before the close of the polls on election day shall be considered and acted upon by the board of civil authority before the ballots are counted.

(B) If the voter registration application is approved and the voter’s name added to the checklist, the early voter absentee ballots cast by that voter shall be treated as other valid early voter absentee ballots.

(d) Application time frame.

(1) An application for an early voter absentee ballot shall be valid for the elections or the time frame specified by the applicant.

(2) A single application shall only be valid for any elections within the same calendar year.

(e) Duplicate early voter absentee ballots.

(1)(A) The town clerk may, upon application, issue a duplicate early voter absentee ballot if the original ballot is lost or not received by the voter within a reasonable period of time after it is mailed to the voter by the town clerk or by the Secretary of State’s office pursuant to section 2537a of this subchapter.

(B) The application may be made by a person entitled to apply for an early voter absentee ballot under subsection (a) of this section and shall be accompanied by a sworn statement affirming that the voter has not received the original ballot.

(2) If a duplicate early voter absentee ballot is issued and both the duplicate and original early voter absentee ballots are received before the close of the polls on election day, the ballot that is received first by the town clerk shall be counted and the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office shall be notified.

(f) Unauthorized applicants.

(1) Any person who applies for an early voter absentee ballot knowing the person is without authorization from the early or absentee voter shall be fined not more than $100.00 per violation for the first three violations, not more than $500.00 per violation for the fourth through ninth violations, and not more than $1,000.00 per violation for the tenth and subsequent violations.

(2) The Attorney General or a State’s Attorney, whenever he or she has reason to believe any person to be or to have been in violation of this provision, shall conduct a civil investigation in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 2904 of this title. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 65; 1981, No. 239 (Adj. Sess.), § 31; 1985, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1985, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 3, 11, 12; 1989, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1993, No. 80, § 1; 2001, No. 6, § 4, eff. April 10, 2001; 2001, No. 83 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2003, No. 94 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2007, No. 72, § 2; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 35; 2015, No. 30, § 13, eff. May 26, 2015; 2015, No. 44, § 10, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; 2017, No. 50, § 27; 2019, No. 67, § 14; 2021, No. 60, § 4, eff. June 7, 2021.)