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2020 Election: How to check that your absentee ballot will be counted

A recent ruling that allowed some voters to submit ballots without witnesses has been overturned, creating confusion for some Alabama absentee voters.

ALABAMA, USA — If you turned in an absentee ballot the first couple weeks in October, you may want to double check and see if it will be thrown out.

A recent ruling that allowed some voters to submit ballots without witnesses has been overturned, creating confusion for some Alabama absentee voters.

On September 30th, a federal judge ruled that certain voters with a high risk of getting COVID-19 could turn in their ballots without getting them notarized or signed by two witnesses. That decision was overturned on October 13th.

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If you're worried your vote will not count, Secretary of State John Merrill says if you voted during the period of time when Judge Kallon's ruling was in effect between September 30th and October 13th, you can check the tracker on alabamavotes.gov to see if your ballot is complete.

"If it's incomplete, then you can contact your local circuit clerk to find out what steps you may take in order to be successfully prepared to ensure that your ballot will count on November the 3rd," said Merrill.

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Absentee ballots without witness signatures returned during the time of Judge Kallon's ruling will be set aside and counted.

Ballots received before September 30th and after October 13th that are not notarized or do not have two witness signatures will not be counted.

If your ballot was postmarked on October 13th and received after that date, your ballot could still be counted.

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If you have not turned in your absentee ballot yet, you must get it notarized or signed by two witnesses for your vote to count.

"The most important thing to remember whenever you're voting is to follow the instructions, follow the directions, and follow state law, and when you've done that, you know that your ballot will be counted for the candidate of your choice," said Merrill.

Click here for our full election guide.

WATCH: Could the 2020 election change the way we vote forever?

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