Registered voters may vote an absentee ballot by mail or in person at the office of the Absentee Election Manager/Circuit Clerk if they will be unable to go to the polls on election day for one of the following reasons:

(1) The voter will be out of the county on election day. (2) The voter has a physical illness or infirmity that prevents his or her attendance at the polls. (3) The voter works a shift which has at least 10 hours that coincide with the hours the polls are open. (4) The voter has been appointed a poll watcher at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place. (5) The voter is a member of, or a spouse of a member of, the armed forced.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is 4:30 p.m., Thursday, October 28, 2004.

Applications for absentee ballots are available in the office of the Absentee Election Manager/Circuit Clerk at the courthouse and are also available for download at the website of the Secretary of State, www.sos.state.al.us.

Completed applications must be returned by the voter in person or sent by U.S. mail.

Only one application per envelope is acceptable.

No one can receive or return ballots for any person--not even a family member, unless it is a medical emergency that occurs after the October 28 deadline for application.

For more information about absentee voting, you may call Circuit Clerk Ann Tate who is the

Absentee Election Manager.