Section 17-10-5

Delivery of absentee ballots; maintenance of voter lists.

(a) Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot as provided in Section 17-10-3(a) if the applicant's name appears on the list of qualified voters in the election to be held or if the voter makes an affidavit for a challenged vote, the absentee election manager shall furnish the absentee ballot to the applicant by: (1) forwarding it by United States mail to the applicant's or voter's residence address or upon written request of the voter, to the address where the voter regularly receives mail or (2) by handing the absentee ballot to the voter in person or, in the case of emergency voting, his or her designee in person. If the absentee election manager has reasonable cause to believe that the applicant has given a fraudulent address on the application for the absentee ballot, the absentee election manager shall turn over the ballot application to the district attorney for any action which may be necessary under Act 94-320 or other acts. The absentee election manager further may require additional proof of a voter's eligibility to vote absentee when there is evidence of continuous absentee voting. The absentee election manager shall mail any absentee ballot requested to be mailed as provided in Section 17-10-3(a) no later than the next business day after an application has been received unless the absentee ballots have not been delivered to the absentee election manager. If the absentee ballots have not been so delivered, the absentee election manager shall hold all requests until the ballots are delivered and shall then respond by placing ballots in the mail no later than the next business day.

(b) The official list of qualified voters shall be furnished to the absentee election manager by the judge of probate using a printout from the state voter registration list of registered voters for that county containing vote registration information useful in the identification of absentee voters. The information provided in this report shall be established by rules adopted by the Secretary of State with the advice of the Alabama Circuit Court Clerks Association or its members and shall indicate whether the individual is obligated to produce identification in accordance with Section 17-10A-1. The Secretary of State may further provide by administrative rule for electronic access to this list for optional use by the absentee election manager. This list shall be made available beginning at least 45 days before the election. In municipal elections, the official list of qualified voters shall be furnished to the absentee election manager at least 35 days before the election. Any supplemental list of qualified electors shall also be provided to the absentee election manager as soon as the list becomes available. The absentee election manager shall underscore on the list the name of each voter who has applied for an absentee ballot and shall write immediately beside his or her name the word "absentee." The Secretary of State by rule may provide for electronic access to the absentee election manager's county list of registered voters and for the method of identifying applicants for absentee ballots in conjunction with the state voter registration list.

(c) The absentee election manager shall enroll the name, residence, and polling place of the applicant, and the date the application was received on a list of absentee voters. Each day the absentee election manager shall enter on the list the names, addresses, and polling places of each voter who has that day applied for an absentee ballot and shall, for all elections other than municipal elections, post a copy of the list of applications received each day on the regular bulletin board or other public place in the county courthouse. In municipal elections, the absentee election manager shall post a copy of the list of applications received each day on the regular bulletin board or other public place in city hall. The list shall be maintained in the office of the clerk or register for 60 days after the election, at which time it shall be filed with the judge of probate. Before the polls open at any election on election day, the absentee election manager shall effectuate the delivery to the election officers of each polling place a list showing the name and address of every person whose name appears on the official list of qualified electors for the polling place who applied for an absentee ballot in the election. The name of the person who applied for an absentee ballot shall be stricken from the list of qualified electors kept at the polling place, and the person shall not vote again. Except as to individuals voting pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff, applications for absentee ballots are required for elections which are more than 30 days apart.

(d) For individuals voting pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff, the Secretary of State shall by rule prescribe use of standardized military and overseas voter registration applications and applications for absentee ballots adopted by the United States government for such use. The Secretary of State shall also prescribe by rule provisions within the standard state application form for absentee voting which permit the voter to identify himself or herself as a military or overseas voter. Unless otherwise indicated by the military or overseas voter, an application for an absentee ballot by such a voter shall remain valid through the next two regularly scheduled general election cycles for federal office. The circuit clerk shall confirm by January 1 of each election year the address of the military and overseas voters prior to mailing the ballots during each election cycle, and the absentee election manager shall provide an absentee ballot to the military and overseas voters for each such subsequent election. The absentee election manager, within seven days after each regularly scheduled general election for federal office, shall report the number of military and overseas ballots mailed out and the number of ballots received to the Secretary of State who shall report this information to the Federal Election Assistance Commission within 90 days of each regularly scheduled general election for federal office.

(Acts 1975, No. 1147, p. 2251, §3; Acts 1978, No. 616, p. 873, §3; Acts 1980, No. 80-732, p. 1478, §2; Acts 1986, No. 86-428, p. 791, §2; Acts 1994, No. 94-320, p. 553, §1; Acts 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 96-885, p. 1699, §3; Act 99-388, p. 615, §1; Act 2001-1097, 4th Sp. Sess., p. 1147, §1; Act 2003-313, p. 733, §2; Act 2003-400, §1.)