Absentee voting and registration deadline near

Absentee voting will be available for the Nov. 6 General Election beginning Tuesday, Oct. 9 and continuing until noon on Monday, Nov. 5.

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

The courthouse will also be open for absentee voting 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 3.

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

The ID must fit the following criteria:

* Your ID must display your photo.

* Your name on the ID must conform with your voter registration record (confirm does not mean identical).

* Your ID must contain an expiration date and either still be current or have expired sometime after Nov. 2, 2010 (the last General Election day).

* Your ID must be issued by the state of Indiana or the U.S. 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.

Forms may also be downloaded from the Indiana Election Division website, www.in.gov/sos/elections/ 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 Oct. 29.

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 their home by a traveling board or you may choose to have a ballot mailed to you by filling out the application for an absentee ballot.

A voter wishing to vote by mail or traveling board does not have to comply with the photo ID law. To request an absentee ballot application, persons should contact voter registration at 655-1538.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 9.