[Adopted 11-12-2001 by Ord. No. 01-9]
Any qualified voter of the Town of Bridgeville
who shall be unable to appear to cast his ballot at any municipal
election at the regular polling place in the Town of Bridgeville for
any of the following reasons shall be entitled to cast an absentee
ballot and to have his vote counted:
A.
Because such person is in the public service of the
United States or of this state.
B.
Because of the nature of such person's business or
occupation.
C.
Because such person is sick or has a physical disability.
D.
Because such person will be unavoidably absent on
the day of the election.
E.
Because such person is absent while on vacation.
Any voter desiring to obtain an absentee ballot because of any of the reasons set forth in § 17-1 of this article shall file or cause to be filed with the Town Secretary an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and dated not earlier than 30 days nor less than the day before the next ensuing election setting forth the reason why such person needs to vote by absentee ballot. Such affidavit shall be filed with the Town Secretary not later than 12:00 noon, prevailing time, on the day immediately preceding the day of the next ensuing election before the Town Secretary shall mail or deliver to the voter the official ballot.
Upon receipt from a voter of the affidavit as required by the provisions of § 17-4 of this article, the Town Secretary, not more than 30 days nor less than one day prior to the annual municipal election and within three days after the ballots, envelopes and instructions for absentee voters become available, shall mail to the voter, postage prepaid, or deliver personally to the voter an official ballot enclosed in an official envelope and a copy of the instructions to absentee voters. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the issuance of an absentee ballot to those lawfully entitled thereto prior to 12:00 noon, prevailing time, on the day prior to the election.
Each applicant for an absentee ballot shall
file an affidavit in substantially the following form:
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"I do solemnly swear (affirm) that I am a resident
of the Town of Bridgeville and have resided there at least ____ years
preceding the day of the election in which this ballot is to be voted;
and my local address is ______________________, in Bridgeville.
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That I will be absent from the Town of Bridgeville
on the day of the election because of ( ) being in the Armed Forces
of the United States, ( ) public service of this state, ( ) nature
of my business or occupation, ( ) sickness or physical disability,
( ) vacation and absence from the Town, and for the reason indicated,
I cannot appear at the polling place of the Town of Bridgeville in
which I am a qualified voter and for the reason indicated I request
an absentee ballot.
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______________________________________
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Signature of Voter
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SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED, before me, this _______
day of _______________, _____.
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______________________________________
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Notary Public
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Upon receipt by the Town Secretary of the affidavit in substantially the form set forth in § 17-4 of this article, the Town Secretary shall deliver or mail with postage prepared to the voter who has applied for absentee ballot an official ballot and an official envelope. There shall be printed on the face of the official envelope an affidavit in substantially the following form:
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"I do solemnly swear (affirm) that I am a resident
of the Town of Bridgeville and that my local address is _________________,
in Bridgeville.
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I do solemnly swear (affirm) that I have not
received nor accepted nor have I offered to receive or accept, paid
or transferred or delivered or offered or promised to pay, transfer
or deliver or contributed or offered to promise to contribute to another
to be paid or used any money or other valuable thing such as compensation,
inducement or reward for the fixing or withholding of this vote at
this election.
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I do solemnly swear (affirm) that I mark my
ballot in secret.
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______________________________________
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Signature of Voter
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SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me, this _______
day of ______________, _____.
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______________________________________
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Notary Public
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The absentee voter shall make and subscribe
to the affidavit printed on the official envelope before an officer
authorized by law to administer oaths, and such voter shall thereupon
mark his ballot in such a manner that the officer cannot know how
the ballot is marked, and the ballot shall then and in the presence
of the officer be deposited by the voter in the official envelope
and securely sealed. Thereupon, the official envelope containing the
marked ballot shall be delivered to the Town Secretary or mailed to
the Town Secretary with postage prepaid. In either case, the ballot
must be received by the Town Administrator before the close of business
on the day immediately preceding the day of the election and not thereafter.
Any absentee ballot received by the Town Administrator
after the close of business on the day before the election shall not
be forwarded to the Board of Elections, but the Town Secretary shall
endorse on the official envelope containing such ballot the time such
was received and shall retain all such ballots unopened and so endorsed
until the last day of May next after the election and longer if directed
to do so by proper authority.
Upon receipt of the official envelope from the
absentee voter, the Town Secretary shall forthwith enclose the official
envelope as received by him and unopened in a special carrier envelope,
the Town Secretary having first written his usual signature on the
special carrier envelope. The Town Secretary shall forthwith securely
seal the special carrier envelope, and in ink the Town Secretary shall
write his full name thereon in the proper place as indicated in this
article and shall securely keep the same in his office until delivered
as required in this article. Neither the President nor any member
of the Town Council nor any other person shall open or attempt to
open the official envelope containing the ballot of the absentee voter
or to change or alter, or attempt to do so, the envelope or any writing,
printing or anything whatsoever thereon.
When an absentee voter's ballot is received
by the Town Secretary, the official envelope containing the marked
ballot, sealed in the special carrier envelope of the Commissioners
of Bridgeville, shall be enclosed and sealed in a package and safely
kept in his office until the day of the election and delivered to
the Election Board after the opening of the polls on the election
and at least one hour before the closing of the polls. The Town Secretary
shall deliver all such absentee voter's ballots separately enclosed
in a special carrier envelope to the Election Board at the polls taking
their seat as the Election Board for the delivery of such a ballot
or ballots.
The Election Board shall refuse to receive any
absentee voter's ballot from any person other than the Town Secretary
or a duly authorized agent of the Town Secretary and shall receive
no other ballots other than those ballots enclosed in the sealed package
delivered by the Town Secretary to the Election Board and shall refuse
to receive and act upon any such ballot that is not enclosed in an
envelope bearing the signature, in ink, of the Town Secretary as required
by this article.
At any time between the opening and closing
of the polls on the day of the election, the inspector shall open
the package delivered by the Town Secretary and ascertain the name
of the absentee voter as appears by the executed affidavit of the
absentee voter on the official envelope enclosing the market ballot;
whereupon he shall announce the absentee voter's name for the purpose
of challenging and upon the determination that such person is a duly
qualified voter of the Town of Bridgeville and that such person has
not voted in person at the election, he shall open the official envelope
containing such absentee voter's ballot in such a manner as not to
deface or destroy the number thereof of the affidavit thereon and
shall take therefrom the official ballot. The Election Board shall
enter the name and address of the absentee voter on the poll list.
The ballot shall then be voted by depositing same in the ballot box
provided for receipt of absentee ballots, and the proper notations
of such vote shall then be recorded in the election records in the
same manner as if the voter had appeared to cast his vote in person.
All official envelopes from which ballots have been taken and voted
and all official envelopes containing ballots which have been rejected
or endorsed as provided by this article shall be preserved by the
Election Board, and the close of the count shall be locked in the
ballot box.
The vote of any absentee voter may be challenged
for cause and further the vote of any absentee voter may be challenged
on the ground that the affidavit filed by the voter in accordance
with the provisions of this article is false or that the voter who
was allegedly absent from the Town of Bridgeville was not absent from
the Town of Bridgeville for the entire time that the polls were open
on the day of the election. Upon challenge, proceedings shall be as
in the case of other challenges.
In case the affidavit of the absentee voter
is found to be insufficient or the absentee voter is not a duly qualified
voter of the Town of Bridgeville or the official envelope is opened
or has been opened and resealed or it is evident that the official
envelope has been tampered with or altered or such ballot has been
forwarded to the polls by someone other than the Town Secretary or
his duly authorized agent, such vote shall not be accepted or counted.
If the official envelope has not been opened at the time the Election
Board decides that the altered ballot contained therein should be
rejected for any of the foregoing reasons, it shall not be opened
by the Election Board, but they shall endorse thereon "rejected" (giving
the reason therefor) and that the official envelope has been opened
and the ballot rejected; the official envelope containing the ballot
shall be replaced in the same carrier envelope from which it was taken
and the election officer shall endorse on that envelope "rejected"
(giving the reason therefor). Whenever it is made to appear by due
proof to the Election Board that any absentee voter who has marked
and forwarded his ballot has died, the official envelope containing
the ballot shall not be opened, but shall be marked "rejected, dead"
and shall be preserved and disposed of as other rejected ballots.
The Commissioners of Bridgeville shall cause
to be provided a register of absentee voters, providing for the following
entries:
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"Request received from _____________ of _____________,
by mail __________ in person; ballot and official envelope number
________, mailed to applicant on ___________ or ballot and official
envelope delivered to ____________, of ___________; marked ballot
sealed in package of official ballots; marked ballot forwarded to
polls _____________;"
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and such other entries as the Commissioners of Bridgeville shall
deem proper to prevent fraud and to make possible the tracing and
detection of any attempt to do so. The Commissioners of Bridgeville
shall also provide a space in the register and shall note thereon
the date on which the Town Secretary receives the affidavit requesting
an official ballot as provided by this article. The Town Secretary
shall compile from the register a list of names and addresses of all
applicants for absentee ballots and shall send current and complete
copies thereof, without cost, to all candidates on the ballot in the
forthcoming election. Such list shall be made available to the candidates
during the two weeks before the election, such information to be recorded
by the candidates from the daily records of the Town Secretary with
the cooperation and assistance of the Town Secretary.
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