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Emergency Applcation for Absentee Ballot
New procedures for Emergency Application for Absentee Ballot This year the Pennsylvania Legislature
created procedures for voters to vote by absentee ballot when circumstances prevented the voter from applying by the regular
deadline of one week prior to Election Day. If you become physically disabled or ill between 5:00 P.M. on the Friday before Election Day and 8:00 P.M. on Election
Day or if you find out after 5:00 P.M. on the Friday before Election Day that you will be absent from your municipality of
residence on Election Day because of your business, duties or occupation, you can receive an emergency absentee ballot if
you complete and file with the court of common pleas in the county where
you are registered to vote an emergency application or a letter or other signed document, which includes the same information
as that provided on the emergency application.
Obtaining an Emergency Absentee
Ballot If You Are Not Able to Appear in Court
If you are not
able to appear in court to receive the ballot, you can designate, in writing, a representative to deliver the absentee ballot
to you and return your completed absentee ballot to the county board of elections.
If you are not able to appear in court or obtain assistance from an authorized representative, the judge will direct a deputy
sheriff of the county to deliver the absentee ballot to you if you are at a physical location within the county.
You will need to prepare three forms:
EMERGENCY APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT;
Designation of Authorized
Representative - Emergency Absentee Ballot;
Certification of Authorized Representative - Emergency Absentee ballot.
Emergency Application for Absentee Ballot Form(The purpose of this form is described as "for emergencies after 5:00 p.m. on
the Friday before Election Day.")
Designation of Authorized Representative to Assist Emergency Absentee Ballot Applicant
Designation of Authorized Representative to Assist- Emergency Ballot Application. (This is to be completed by the voter if
someone will assist the voter in getting an emergency absentee ballot after 5:00 pm the Friday before each election.)
What if I find my polling place is not accessible on Election Day? How can I vote?
Voters with disabilities, as well as seniors 65 and older -- who are assigned to inaccessible polling
places -- are eligible to cast an Alternative Ballot. It
is called an "Alternative" ballot because it is a method of voting provided to the voter as an alternative to having
an accessible location. (Some deal!)
EMERGENCY APPLICATION
FOR ALTERNATIVE BALLOT UNDER THE VOTING ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED ACT
An Alternative Ballot looks exactly like an Absentee Ballot, but a different
colored envelope is used to distinguish it from an Absentee Ballot. The normal deadline to file an application for an
Alternative Ballot is the Tuesday before Election Day. However, if you did not know that your polling
place is inaccessible, or if you had some good cause for not being able to file by that deadline – you can still vote!
The Pennsylvania Department of State created procedures for an Emergency Application for an Alternative Ballot, which
may be filed as late as Election Day at 8:00 p.m. A voter with a disability who discovers on Election Day that
their polling place is not accessible can file an Emergency Application for an Alternative Ballot. This Emergency
Application must be filed on Election Day, before 8:00 p.m., at your County Elections Office.
Emergency Alternative Ballot Under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
What if you can't get to your County Elections Office on Election Day?
If you are unable to travel to the County Elections Office on Election Day, you
can get a friend or relative to act as your agent to travel back and forth to the County Elections Office.
You
will need to prepare three forms
(1) the Emergency Application for Alternative Ballot;
(2) the Designated
Agent Form; and
(3) the Certification of Designated Agent Form.
Certification of Designated Agent
Certification of Designated AgentForm(This should be completed by the person who will return your absentee or alternative
ballot to the county board of elections.)
ASK PAUL...
Will I be required
to show I.D. to vote? All
first-time voters, and all voters who are voting for the first time in a precinct, can be required to show an acceptable form of I.D.
If you do not have I.D. when you go to vote, and if returning later with proper I.D. is not an option, you have
a right to vote by a Provisional Ballot.
Provisional Ballots receive greater scrutiny than other ballots.
However, if you are registered to vote, and if your signature matches the signature on your voter's signature card, then
your Provisional Ballot should get counted. If necessary, casting a Provisional Ballot is much better than not
voting at all.
Can I get assistance
in the voting booth if I need it?
Voters
with disabilities have the right to have the person of their choice provide assistance in the voting booth.
The person providing assistance can be almost anyone -- a friend, a family member, or even a poll worker. However, the
assistant cannot be: (1) the voter's employer; (2) the voter's union representative; or (3) the Judge of Elections.
When a voter with a disability requests assistance in the voting booth, the
poll worker should look up your registration card to see if it has a notation indicating that you require assistance.
If there is no notation on the card, you will be required to complete a written statement explaining the nature of your
disability. Some voters may be offended at intrusive questions like asking for the name, phone # and address of
their doctor. But the poll workers are required to enter all this information, along with the name of the individual
who provided assistance, into the "Record of Assisted Voters." The voting process is a very formal process
with many safeguards.
What if my right to vote is challenged on Election Day? What if someone says I'm not competent to
vote? In Pennsylvania,
we have only 3 qualifications for a person to register and to vote. The individual must be:
• A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the election; •
A resident of Pennsylvania and the election district for at least 30 days before the election;
• At least 18 years of age on or before the day of the election. Pennsylvania does not have
any laws that restrict the right to vote of people who happen to have developmental, mental health, or physical
disabilities. In rare instances, Courts issue orders depriving people of the right to vote. But, so far "electors" in Pennsylvania cannot be challenged on competence, ability or worthiness
to vote. Persons convicted of
felonies (or any other crime) are eligible to vote – only individuals incarcerated in penal institutions for
felony convictions are denied the right to vote. What can I expect from the new voting
machines? Many voters will be using the new voting machines for the first time. For many
voters with disabilities, these machines will be easier to use than the older systems -- for others there may not be much
difference. What should you expect? The Help America Vote Act says that these machines "shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner that
provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters."
If your experience with the voting machine you use is that is does not provide you with equal access and participation (including
privacy and independence) as for other voters, please inform the Pennsylvania Department of State, you County, and Disability Rights Network of Pa.,
of that fact. Reports from last year indicated these machines may be adequate for voters with visual impairments. But,
poll workers were occasionally unable to switch the machines to audio mode, and the voting process can take an extremely long
time for a voter using the audio mode. However, reports from the Primary Election indicated that many models
of voting machines did not provide voters with significant manual dexterity limitations with a private and independent voting
experience. Many of these voters found the new machines to be as useless as the old machines. If this is your
experience, please let us know.
Who can I call on Election Day if I'm prevented from exercising my right to vote? Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania
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