Personal Insurance Blog

Make sure your vote counts! Will you or your college student be away from your hometown on Election Day? Or do you have a physical disability that prevents you from voting at your polling place? You still have the opportunity for your vote to count in this year’s Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 6, by requesting and submitting an absentee ballot.

For your vote to count, a completed absentee ballot must be received by the time the polls close on Election Day. If you are voting from outside the United States, your completed absentee ballot can be received up until 10 days after the election but must be postmarked on or before Election Day.

How do you get an absentee ballot?

Massachusetts residents may download the absentee ballot application and submit to your Town Clerk or election commission. Or you may obtain the application from your local election office. Make sure you allow ample time to allow for the ballot to be mailed to you. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is noon the day before the election.

You may also make application by letter or note to your Town Clerk which must include your:

• name,
• address as registered,
• ward and precinct (if you know them),
• address where you wish the absentee ballot sent,
• in a primary, the party ballot you want, and
• your signature.

Plan to visit the office two or three weeks before the election. You can make your application and cast your vote in one visit.

The ballot will come with instructions and a set of return envelopes. After making your choices on the ballot, you must enclose it in the inner (smaller) brown envelope, read, and complete the information on the front of that envelope and sign it. Then, insert the smaller envelope in the bigger envelope, place proper postage on it, and mail it back to your city or town hall.

Alternatively, you or a family member may hand-deliver it to the local election official. Your completed ballot cannot be delivered directly to your polling place on Election Day. Even if you cannot make it to the polls, make sure your vote counts with an absentee ballot.