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Voters who are unable to vote on election day because of
physical disability,
religious beliefs or travel may vote by absentee ballot. State law limits the
availability of absentee ballots to the three listed circumstances only.
Absentee ballots are not available for mere inconvenience, or because of
ordinary commuting-related difficulties. If you will be absent from Sunderland
for an extended period of time, you may submit a single application for all
elections occurring within the calendar year the application is accepted.
Applications for absentee ballots may be obtained from the Town Clerk.
Applications may be submitted in person or by mail. The voter, or a family
member on the voter’s behalf, may submit an application. All applications must
be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by the voter, or a family
member, before a ballot will be made available, attesting that:
"Under the penalties of perjury, I swear (or affirm) that I am eligible to
vote in Massachusetts at the address below, that I will request a ballot
only from the city
or town below, that I cannot vote in person at the polls on election day
because of absence from the city or town, physical disability, or religious
belief, and that the information below is true. I have carefully read the
instructions on the back of
(or with) the ballot, have marked the ballot while alone or with assisting
person
(if required), and have sealed it in the envelope."
Applications for absentee ballots must be received by the Town Clerk before
12:00 noon the day before an election. (A voter who is admitted to a health care
facility after noon of the fifth day before an election may apply for a ballot
up until the close of the polls and may request to have the ballot delivered.)
Absentee ballots generally are available three weeks before an election.
In a primary election, a voter who is not registered in a political party must
specify the ballot of the party of choice in the application.
Return of Absentee Ballots
Absentee ballots must be received before the polls close to be counted. However,
absentee ballots, completed outside the U.S., for the state general election
will be counted if received by 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day following the
election. This exception does not apply to Sunderland Town elections or state
primaries.
Permanently Physically Disabled Voters
A voter who is permanently disabled need not submit a request for an absentee
ballot every
election. If such a voter submits a written statement from a registered
physician indicating that he is disabled permanently, the Town Clerk will mail
to the registered voter an application for an absentee ballot twenty-eight days
before every election. The application will be as complete as the Town Clerk can
make it, and the voter in most cases need only sign the application and return
it. Upon the Town Clerk's receipt of the signed application, the voter will be
sent an absentee ballot.
If the voter submits an application for an absentee ballot in person, he/she may
obtain the ballot (call first to see if it is available) and vote
"over-the-counter". If the ballot is not available, it will be sent to the voter
when available. When the application is submitted in person by a family member,
the ballot may only be sent by mail to the voter. Ballots may not be "hand
carried" out of the Town Clerk’s office. Ballots may be returned by mail or in
person by the voter or family member. All ballot envelopes must be signed by the
voter or, if the voter is unable to sign, by an assisting person.
Specially Qualified Voters
In addition to registered voters, certain "specially qualified voters" may vote
by absentee ballot. A "specially qualified voter" is a person who is a
Massachusetts citizen, living outside of the United States, who is at least
eighteen years old and whose last residence in the United States was
Massachusetts. You also may be a "specially qualified voter" if you are
otherwise eligible to be a registered voter and your present domicile (a place
where you live and plan to remain) is Massachusetts and you are: out of town
because you are in the active service of the armed forces or merchant marine of
the United States, or a spouse or dependent of such person; absent from the
Commonwealth; or confined in a correctional facility or jail.
Absentee Ballot Application Absentee Ballot Application for Family Member