The Red and Black

Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News

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Students interested in voting for the next U.S. President need not worry about their class schedule on Nov. 4.

With absentee ballots, it is possible for registered voters to cast votes if they cannot be in the registered precinct between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on election day.

The process for requesting an absentee ballot is "very easy," Annie Swoopes, an absentee ballot clerk at the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections office, said. Students only need to fill out an application, mail it in and wait to receive it back.

Absentee ballots may be requested up to 180 days before an election. They are mailed to voters at least 45 days before the election and must be received by the county board of registrars' office by 7 p.m. on election day.

"There's no problem whatsoever in (getting an absentee ballot)," Swoopes said. "Even if you're a first time voter."

Applications are available online and should be mailed or faxed to the county office in which the voter is registered. Students registered in Athens-Clarke County can visit the Board of Elections office to save time and postage.

"We start processing the applications we have on file within two days (of receiving them)," Cora Wright, an elections assistant, said. "And ballots are normally mailed out the day the application is processed."

For some first-time voters, identification may be required.

"If we process an application and they need identification, we send them a letter telling them they will need to send identification," Swoopes said.

When voters receive a ballot, they should fill it out and sign the oath on the back of the envelope before mailing it back. Ballots may also be cast in person up to 45 days before the election without an explanation. Absentee voting continues through the week before the election, but no ballots can be cast the day before.

"Every presidential election is important, and I love to see people get a love for the process altogether, regardless of who is running," Wright said.

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