Absentee ballots step by step

August 31, 2020
I know many of you would like to vote via absentee ballot in the upcoming November 3, 2020 election.  That is why, last month, I voted for legislation adding COVID-19 as a reason for voting by absentee ballot.  I am writing to you to provide further information on how you can do so.

This is a two-step process.  First, you must request an absentee ballot.  There are several ways to get the

application to request an absentee ballot.
  • You can go to your town hall and get an application.
  • You can download the application from the Secretary of the State’s website here:
Absentee Ballot Application - ENGLISH
Absentee Ballot Application - SPANISH
  • Finally, if you do not want to do any of that, the Secretary of the State will also mail applications to all registered voters between Tuesday September 8th and Friday September 11th.

Once you fill out the application, you can either mail it to your Town Clerk or drop it off.  I recommend dropping off the application – towns have drop boxes set up for this so you can drop it off without going into town hall).

Second, you must complete and return the ballot, once you receive it.

This is where things get interesting with respect to the mail.  Town Clerks in each town are responsible for mailing the ballots to voters.  By law, unfortunately, they cannot mail a ballot to you before October 2, 2020.  We certainly are doing everything we can do support the town clerks and protect the U.S. Postal Service so that your ballot arrives before election day on November 3.  But this is not a centralized system, unfortunately, so for some of you, it may be close to election day when you receive the ballot.

Once you receive the ballot, you can either mail it back to your town or drop it off in a secure drop box.  Again, I strongly recommend that you return your ballot by dropping it off in a secure drop box in your town.  All towns have them, usually at town hall.

If you cannot drop off the ballot, your ballot must be mailed back and received before election day.  You can see how the timing will be tight.  Ballots cannot go out before October 2 and must be received back by November 3.  Again, the best thing to do to make sure your ballot is received by election day is to drop it off at town hall in a secure drop box.