Absentee Ballots

APPLYING FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT

If a registered voter is unable to vote in person on Election Day, they may apply to the Town Clerk for an absentee ballot for any of the following reasons:  

My active service in the Armed Forces of the United States
My absence from my town of residence
Sickness
My religious tenets forbid secular activity on the day of the election, primary or referendum
My duties as a primary, election or referendum official at a polling place other than my own during all of the hours of voting
Physical disability

Before a ballot can be issued to the voter, an application must be completed and returned to this office. The application can be obtained in person, by mail or by clicking here (the application must be printed from the web page, hand signed by the voter and mailed or hand delivered to the clerk’s office) OR you may apply for an absentee ballot online at by clicking HERE.

Absence or inability to vote in person does not mean that you must forfeit your right to vote!
Voters are urged to contact the clerk’s office at 860-848-6784 or KHaring@montville-ct.org with any specific questions.

LEGISLATION

Public Act 12-57, “An Act Concerning Permanent Absentee Ballot Status for the Permanently Disabled” created
permanent absentee balloting status for certain individuals and became
effective January 1, 2013.

IN GENERAL

To be eligible for permanent absentee ballot status, an elector must file with the Town Clerk an absentee ballot application together with a doctor’s certificate stating that they have a permanent disability and are unable to appear in person at their polling place.  The doctor’s note should be on letterhead. There is no prescribed form—the doctor’s note and the absentee ballot application would satisfy the requirement of the law.

Permanent absentee ballot status enables the elector to receive an absentee ballot for each election, primary, and referendum in the municipality in which they are eligible to vote.  Absentee ballots are available 21 days before a Primary and 31 days before an Election.

ELIGIBILITY

In January of each year the Registrars of Voters will send written notice to each elector with permanent absentee ballot status to determine if the elector continues to reside at the address on the permanent absentee ballot application.  If the elector fails to respond to the notice, the permanent absentee ballot status will be removed, but the elector will remain on the voter registration list.

PROCEDURE

The Freedom of Information Commission has indicated that they feel that any doctor’s note on file with the Town Clerk is not subject to disclosure.  The original absentee ballot application, however, would continue to be subject to disclosure just like any other application for absentee ballot.

The federal MOVE ACT (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) was signed into law by President Obama on October 28, 2009 and makes provisions for mailing a ballot electronically, upon request, to a voter who is in the military or who is an overseas citizen and their dependents.  Electronic voting is only for elections that have federal offices on the ballot.  (Electronic means faxing as well as emailing).

The actual ballot is a blank ballot format that is sent along with a list of candidates. If you qualify for an emailed ballot, please contact the Town Clerk at KHaring@montville-ct.org the absentee ballot application can now be faxed or emailed to us, but the original must be mailed to the office as well for your ballot to count. 

If you are not military personnel, an overseas voter or their dependent, please follow the instructions outlined below to request an absentee ballot. 

Instructions

• Click here to open the absentee ballot application form.
• Print the form on white paper.
• Complete the required information on the form.
• Mail it to:
      Katie Haring, MCTC - Town Clerk
      Town of Montville
           310 Norwich-New London Tpke
           Uncasville, CT 06382