Voters scared of virus clamor for absentee ballots

One of the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic is concern about potential danger during the Nov. 3 general election.

Many people appear to be worried about possible exposure to the virus if they vote in the election in person.

Circuit Clerk Phyllis Stanford said a variety of precautionary measures will be taken to keep voters and poll workers safe, including spacing, protective gear and hand sanitizers. She has also found that although voting machines are touch-sensitive, objects such as cotton swabs can be used to register votes without actually touching the devices.

Despite that, with the election still more than two months away, voters are already asking about absentee ballots.

Election officials can only do so much to help them, especially as far as coronavirus fears are concerned.

A number of circumstances will allow voters to cast absentee ballots but only a few qualify them for mailed absentee ballots. And only one reason, recently added, refers directly to the virus.

For the rest, a voter will have to cast the absentee ballot in the circuit clerk’s office in person.

One coronavirus exception

The one concession the legislature did make this year is if a person is under a physician-ordered quarantine due to the coronavirus, or caring for someone under a physician-ordered quarantine, he or she may qualify for a mailed absentee ballot. It was not clear exactly what constituted “physician-ordered.” That exemption expires at the end of the year.

Most important to many, simply being concerned about the virus has not been approved as a legal reason to vote an absentee ballot.

Absentee ballots won’t be ready until about the middle of September. The law says 45 days before the election so the circuit clerk’s office won’t begin compiling the list of absentee voters for a few more weeks. The secretary of state’s office does not always have ballots approved 45 days out, but if not, it is usually close.

Who can vote by mail

As noted, some citizens are specifically asking for voting by mail and there are a few ways that can be done.

You can get a mailed ballot if you are temporarily residing outside the county but the ballot will be sent to the temporary address. Stanford said she has always mailed ballots to college students, for instance.

You can qualify for a mail ballot if you are 65 or older, or are temporarily or permanently disabled but your ballot will have to be notarized.

And, finally, you may qualify for a mail ballot if you are a parent, spouse of dependent of someone temporarily or permanently disabled who is hospitalized outside the county of residence or more than 50 miles away, and you will be with the person on election day. Stanford said this is rarely used.

However, a person can’t just call up the clerk’s office and say send a ballot.

The voter must request an application, complete it and return it, although the two can be mailed together as long as they are in the required separate envelopes provided. The application and ballot need to be notarized or witnessed and must be received no later than five days after the election, but postmarked no later than the day of the election.

The witness should be a notary public, postal or court clerk but for someone disabled the witness can just be someone 18 or older.

In no case can the circuit clerk hand-deliver absentee ballots. They must be voted in person in the office or sent and returned by mail.

What about party affiliation

A question that comes up at nearly each election is confusion about political party affiliation, although the law on this has not changed.

Mississippi does not require voters to register any party affiliation and one may vote on a general election ballot for any combination or mixture of party candidates he or she chooses. We don’t have “registered” Democrats or Republicans.

The situation for primaries is different, however.

The purpose of primaries is not to elect candidates but to choose nominees to represent their parties on the general election ballot. Since a primary is held by either the Democratic or Republican Party rather than the county or city, a voter must choose which primary to participate in.

Some confusion comes from that fact that until recent years virtually all candidates ran as Democrats and with only one party to move on to the general election, the primary sometimes effectively decided the race.

While voting in a primary suggests party affiliation it does not really tie the voter to that party. The only restriction is that if one votes in either primary and there is a runoff, the voter can only vote in the same party’s runoff and not cross over to the other party. If you don’t vote in the primary, you can vote in a runoff for either party.

Other challenges

This is proving to be a challenging year for election officials because the laws and regulations are changing often in the face of trying to deal with the coronavirus. That’s in addition to dealing with the virus itself.

In addition to taking precautionary measures, the officials may have trouble finding people willing to be at the polls for more than 12 hours to hold the election. In the past, those willing to work at the polls have tended to be retired or older citizens, who now may be more susceptible to illness such as a contagious virus and less willing to take a chance. The pay for election workers is being increased $50 as an incentive and some of their reporting responsibilities have been reduced as well, which may help.

One other problem election officials may have to deal with is that two issues will be on the ballot in addition to the elective offices.

One deals with choosing a design for a new state flag and the other could make some use of medical marijuana legal in the state. While the flag question should be a simple yes or no decision, the marijuana issue includes conditional options with multiple choices that are already being found confusing.

What qualifies one to vote an absentee ballot

Here are the already-existing legal reasons to qualify for an absentee ballot:

• Enlisted or commissioned member, male or female, of any component of the United States Armed Forces and am a citizen of Mississippi, or spouse or dependent of such member.
• Member of the Merchant Marine or the American Red Cross and am a citizen of Mississippi or spouse or dependent of such member.
• Disabled war veteran who is a patient in any hospital and am a citizen of Mississippi or spouse or dependent of such veteran.
• Civilian attached to and serving outside of the United States with any branch of the Armed Forces or with the Merchant Marine or American Red Cross, and am a citizen of Mississippi or spouse or dependent of such civilian.
• Trained or certified emergency response provider deployed during the absentee voting period, on election day or during any or any state of emergency declared by the President of the United States or governor of any state in the United States.
• Citizen of Mississippi temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of the United States and the District of Columbia.
• Student, teacher or administrator at a college, university, junior or community college, high, junior high, elementary or grade school, whose studies or employment at such institution necessitates my absence from the county of my voting residence or spouse or dependent of such student, teacher or administrator who maintains a common domicile outside the county of my voting residence with such student, teacher or administrator.
• Will be outside the county on election day.
• Have a temporary or permanent physical disability (requiring a doctor’s statement), which may include, but is not limited to, a physician-imposed quarantine due to COVID-19 during the year 2020.  Or caring for a dependent that is under a physician-imposed quarantine due to COVID-19 beginning with the effective date of this act and the same being repealed on December 31, 2020.
• Sixty-five (65) years of age or older.
• The parent, spouse or dependent of a person with a temporary or permanent physical disability who is hospitalized outside his or her county of residence or more than 50 miles away from his or her residence, and I will be with such person on election day.
• A member of the congressional delegation, or spouse or dependent of a member of the congressional delegation.
• Required to be at work on election day during the times which the polls will be open.

Although prosecution is rare, a person can be fined up to $5,000 and sentenced up to five years in the penitentiary for making a false statement in applying for an absentee ballot and for selling a vote and violating the Mississippi Absentee Voter Law.