[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Ocean View as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Election districts — See Ch. 13.
[Adopted 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 48]
Every person who shall have reached the age
of 18 years who is a citizen of the United States, and who has been
a resident of the Town of Ocean View for six months immediately preceding
the date of an election and meets qualifications for voting in elections
held for representatives in the General Assembly of the State of Delaware
and shall have registered on the "Books of Registered Voters" of the
Town of Ocean View, shall be entitled to vote in the annual municipal
elections.
The Town Council shall provide two registers
to be known as the "Books of Registered Voters" which shall be kept
by the Secretary and shall be conclusive evidence of the right of
any person to vote at the annual election. The "Books of Registered
Voters" shall contain the names of those persons who have registered
in alphabetical order and the following information for each registrant:
Name and permanent address of the registrant, the local address of
the registrant, the birth date of the registrant, the date the registrant
became a resident of the State of Delaware, and the date the registrant
became a resident of the Town of Ocean View and other pertinent information.
No person shall be registered upon the "Books
of Registered Voters" unless he or she will have acquired the qualifications
to vote in the annual election for the year in which he or she registers.
[Amended 11-18-2008 by Ord. No. 240]
A person shall be required to register one time;
provided, however, that if a registered voter fails to vote in two
consecutive annual elections in which there is a contest, his name
shall be removed from the "Books of Registered Voters" and notice
shall be sent to said registered voter at his last known address by
first class mail advising that his name has been removed from the
"Books of Registered Voters" and that it will be necessary to register
again in order to be eligible to vote at the annual election.
[Amended 12-4-2007 by Ord. No. 228; 11-18-2008 by Ord. No.
240]
The person may register at the Town Hall during
its regular office hours by completing and returning such forms as
may be provided by the Town in person or by mail or downloaded from
the Town’s website; provided, however, that no person shall
be registered after the close of business on the 10th business day
prior to any election or referendum. Appropriate identification must
be presented/indicated on the voter registration form when it is returned
to the Town Hall, whether in person or by mail.
[Adopted 11-6-1990 by Ord. No. 62]
Any qualified voter of the Town of Ocean View
who shall be unable to appear to cast his ballot at any municipal
election at the regular polling place in the Town of Ocean View 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 such person will be unavoidably absent on
the day of the election.
C.
Because such person is sick or has a physical disability.
D.
Because such person is absent while on vacation.
E.
Because such person is unable to vote at a certain
time or on a certain day because of the tenets or teachings of his
religion.
Any voter desiring to obtain an absentee ballot because of any of the reasons set forth in § 54-6 of this article shall file or cause to be filed with the Town Administrator an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and dated not earlier than 30 days nor later 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 Administrator not later than 12:00 noon, prevailing time, on the day immediately preceding the day of the next ensuing election before the Town Administrator shall mail or deliver to the voter the official ballot.
Upon receipt from a voter of the affidavit as required by the provisions of § 54-9 of this article, the Town Administrator, 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.
[Amended 2-2-1993 by Ord. No. 74]
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 Ocean View 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 Ocean
View.
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That I will be absent from the Town of Ocean
View 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, ( ) unable to vote at a certain
time on a certain date because of the tenets or teachings of my religion
and, for the reason indicated, I cannot appear at the polling place
of the Town of Ocean View in which I am a qualified voter, and for
the reason indicated I request an absentee ballot.
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________________________________
Signature of Voter
SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me, this ________day
of _____________________, A.D. _______.
________________________________
Notary Public"
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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 giving or withholding of this vote at
this election.
I do solemnly swear (affirm) that I mark my
ballot in secret.
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________________________________
Signature of Voter
SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me, this ________day
of _____________________, A.D. _______.
________________________________
Notary Public"
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[Amended 2-2-1993 by Ord. No. 74]
Upon receipt by the Town Administrator of the affidavit in substantially the form set forth in § 54-9 of this article, the Town Administrator shall deliver or mail with postage prepaid to the voter who has applied for an absentee ballot an official ballot and an official envelope.
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 Administrator or mailed
to the Town Administrator 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 Administrator
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 Administrator shall forthwith enclose the
official envelope as received by him and unopened in a special carrier
envelope, the Town Administrator having first written his usual signature
on the special carrier envelope. The Town Administrator shall forthwith
securely seal the special carrier envelope, and in ink the Town Administrator
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 Mayor 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 Administrator, the official envelope containing the marked
ballot, sealed in the special carrier envelope of the Town of Ocean
View, shall be enclosed and sealed in a package and safely kept in
his office until the day of the election and delivered to the Judges
of Election after the opening of the polls on the election and at
least one hour before the closing of the polls. The Town Administrator
shall deliver all such absentee voters' ballots separately enclosed
in a special carrier envelope to the Judges of Election at the polls
taking their seat as the Judges of Election for the delivery of such
a ballot or ballots.
The Judges of Election shall refuse to receive
any absentee voter's ballot from any person other than the Town Administrator
or a duly authorized agent of the Town Administrator and shall receive
no other ballots other than those ballots enclosed in the sealed package
delivered by the Town Administrator to the Judges of Election and
shall refuse to receive or act upon any such ballot that is not enclosed
in an envelope bearing the signature, in ink, of the Town Administrator
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 Administrator and ascertain the
name of the absentee voter as appears by the executed affidavit of
the absentee voter on the official envelope enclosing the marked 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 Ocean View 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 or the affidavit thereon and
shall take therefrom the official ballot. The Judges of Election 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
Board of Election, 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 Ocean View was not absent from
the Town of Ocean View 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 Ocean View 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 Administrator
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 Judges
of Election decide that the altered ballot contained therein should
be rejected for any of the foregoing reasons, it shall not be opened
by the Judges of Election, 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 Judges of Election 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 Town Council of Ocean View 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 _____________________________,
on __________________; marked ballot sealed in package of official
ballots; marked ballot forwarded to polls ________________________;"
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and such other entries as the Town Council of
Ocean View shall deem proper to prevent fraud and to make possible
the tracing and detection of any attempt to do so. The Town Council
of Ocean View shall also provide a space in the Register and shall
note thereon the date on which the Town Administrator receives the
affidavit requesting an official ballot as provided by this article.
The Town Administrator 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 Administrator with the cooperation and assistance of the
Town Administrator.
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