Town clerks have absentee ballots

Editor’s note: This announcement is from the Barkhamsted Town Clerk’s office, but the information applies to all municipalities in Connecticut in advance of the Nov. 5 elections.

Anyone seeking an absentee ballot should contact their town clerk immediately.

BARKHAMSTED — The Town Clerk’s office would like to notify everyone that absentee ballots are now available for the Nov. 5 municipal elections. Be sure to get your ballot early if you’ll be away for vacation or at college. Call 8603798665 for information.

Any elector may vote by absentee ballot if one of the following is applicable:

They will be absent from town during all hours of voting; personal illness or physical disability; active service in the U.S. armed forces; religious tenets which forbid secular activity on election, primary or referendum day; or service as an election official at a polling place other than the official's place of voting.

An absentee ballot application form may be printed from the Secretary of the State’s website (www.sots.ct.gov) or obtained from the town clerk’s office either in person or through the mail. Completed applications must be returned to the town clerk's office of the town where the applicant is an elector.

Ballots will be given or mailed directly to the applicant/voter; they may not be given to another person for delivery. Completed ballots must be received by the close of polls on Election Day in order to be counted. An elector who votes by absentee ballot may return the ballot in person by the day before the election or mail the ballot so that it is received by the town clerk's office by the close of polls. If mailing, please mail early enough to allow sufficient time for the post office to transport and deliver the ballot on or before Election Day.