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Ahead of the July 14 Primary Runoff Election, Secretary of State John H. Merrill walks Alabama voters through the process of casting an absentee ballot:
“In Alabama, we have made a concerted effort to maintain voter privacy while also ensuring the security of our elections process.
When you submit your absentee ballot to your local Absentee Election Manager, your ballot should be sealed in the secrecy envelope and the affidavit envelope that accompanies your ballot. Your ballot will then be marked as received.
After your ballot has been marked as received, your ballot will be stored in a safe and secure location until Election Day, when it will be counted by the absentee poll workers for your county.
At noon on Election Day, the Absentee Election Manager will deliver the voted absentee ballots to the absentee poll workers. In the presence of any poll watchers, the absentee poll workers will then call out the name of each voter who has cast an absentee ballot and shall examine each affidavit envelope to determine if the signature of the voter has been properly witnessed or notarized. Once it is determined that the affidavit has been properly witnessed or notarized and that the affidavit establishes that the voter is qualified to vote by absentee ballot, the absentee poll workers shall open the affidavit envelope and remove the secrecy envelope that contains the actual voted ballot. The secrecy envelopes are set aside unopened to protect the identity of the voter and the secrecy of the voter’s ballot.
After all affidavit envelopes have been processed, the ballots are ready to be inserted into the ballot tabulator for counting. The voted ballots are removed from the secrecy envelopes and inserted into the ballot tabulator. Your ballot is then counted for the candidates of your choice!
The vote totals from the absentee ballots are not produced until after the polls close at 7:00 PM.”
For more information in Escambia County, contact Absentee Election Manager John Fountain at 251-867-0225, extension 225.