Absentee voting to begin Monday

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Absentee voting will be available for the Nov. 2 General Election beginning Monday and continuing until noon on Nov. 1.

Any registered voter in Putnam County qualified to vote may do so in advance in the second floor of the Putnam County Courthouse from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The courthouse will also open for absentee voting from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 30.

Voters now must provide in person a government-issued photo ID at the clerk's office or at the polls on Election Day before casting a ballot.

The ID must fit the following criteria:

* Must display photo

* Name on ID must conform with your voter registration record (conform does not mean it must be identical)

* Must contain an expiration date and either still be current or have expired sometime after Nov. 4, 2008 (the last General Election Day)

* Must be issued by the State of Indiana or the United States government

Any person requiring an absentee ballot to be mailed to them in-county, out-of-county or out-of-state must complete an application for an absentee ballot. Forms are available at the Voter Registration Office (on the second floor of the courthouse) and must be filed before the ballot can be mailed.

The deadline to receive an application for an absentee ballot to be mailed is midnight on Oct. 25.

For those individuals confined to their homes due to illness, injury or a handicap, a request may be made that the ballot be brought to his or her home by a traveling board, or they may choose to have a ballot mailed by filling out the application for an absentee ballot.

Any voter wishing to vote by mail or traveling board does not have to comply with the new photo ID law.

To request an absentee ballot application, call voter registration at 655-1538.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday.

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