Deadline for absentee ballots approaching

Deadline for absentee ballots approaching

The deadline to request absentee ballots by mail for the April 4 general municipal/school election  is approaching, county election board secretary Sharon Steele said.

Applications for absentee ballots must be received by the county election board no later than 5 p.m. Monday to be processed in time for the election.

Absentee voters may apply in person at the county election board office or may send their applications by mail, fax or email. An online version of the form may be filled out and submitted electronically at www.elections.ok.gov. Any registered voter eligible to vote in the election may vote by absentee ballot without stating a reason, Steele said, however absentee voters can activate certain special conditions in the following circumstances:

* Registered voters who are physically incapacitated and voters who care for physically incapacitated persons who cannot be left unattended may apply for absentee ballots only by mail, fax, email, online or via an agent who is at least 16 years of age and who is not employed by or related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to any person whose name appears on the ballot.

* Registered voters who are confined to nursing homes in the county may apply by mail, by fax, by email, online or via an agent who is at least 16 years of age and who is not employed by or related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to any person whose name appears on the ballot.

* Military personnel, residents of LeFlore County living overseas, and the spouses and dependents of each group may apply only by mail, fax or email. For more information and instructions, military and overseas voters may visit the federal voting assistance program website: www.fvap.gov/oklahoma.

For more information on absentee voting, contact the election board at 103 North Church Street in Poteau. The phone number is (918) 647-3701 and the fax number is (918) 647-5262.

For additional election-related information, visit www.elections.ok.gov.

Please help us continue reporting on LeFlore County by subscribing to our daily newsletter and weekly e-edition, which includes down memory lane and the weekly legals. Cost is only $50 per year or $5 per month. Subscribe HERE.