HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — We’re in the middle of a pandemic, but elections are still taking place. This year, more people are opting to send in absentee ballots to cast their vote.
The city of Huntsville is seeing numbers of applications for absentee ballots skyrocket just a week before the city election. And if you plan on requesting yours, you might want to read on.
City of Huntsville municipal election day is August 25th and the Clerk Treasurer says his office is swamped with absentee ballot requests coming in. With high stakes, and limited time--- the pressure is on for city staff.
We caught up with Huntsville Clerk Treasurer, Kenneth Benion. He says absentee ballot requests have multiplied this year. Benion says, “Normally-- max-- we would get about 250 absentee applications during an election when the mayor is running-- which is a city-wide election. Now, we’re approaching 1,600 to 1,700.”
He adds, “We’re coming in early, we’re working through lunch; we’re working late..."
With mail delays and so much confusion surrounding the U.S. postal service and mail in voting across the country; people locally have been looking for answers.
Benion says, “We are flooded with questions-- people confuse the Huntsville municipal election with the general election that’s going on in the fall.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The deadline to register for an absentee ballot for the Huntsville municipal election is Thursday August 20th. But, there are some things you have to consider.
Benion tells our reporter, “Due to the mail and just the time frame it would take to get it returned back to us; I would advise you to go online and download the application.”
You can find the application form on the city website. Don’t wait until the day-of to try to request a ballot be mailed to you. Your request likely won’t be processed.
But, we're told, you can physically bring in your application to city hall before Thursday. Benion says, “You can only bring it in for yourself, with ID. And if you mail it in, you have to put each one in a separate envelope. You can’t put multiple in one envelope.”
If you want to save yourself a little bit of time, just go to City Hall and you can take care of multiple steps-- all at once. Benion tells our reporter, “Come down to City Hall. We’ve set up a special room for absentee ballots. You can even complete your application here. And we can also go ahead and issue you a ballot, you can vote; and we’ll lock that up until election.”
If you’re voting in person, the polls open Tuesday, August 25th at 7 am. Don’t forget your masks!
If you’re mailing in your absentee ballot, that envelope needs to be postmarked no later than Monday August 24th for it to be counted.