By SAVANNAH TILLMAN
Student Reporter

Forms for Absentee Ballots are ready to be mailed out this week.

The applications will be available for Freedoms Annual School Election held on February 9th, 2016 and Presidential Preferential Primary Election held on March 1st, 2016.

Absentee ballot applications forms are available at the County Election Board office located at 410 4th St., Suite F, Professional Building, Alva, OK. You can also log onto www.elections.ok.gov to download and print the application and for more information about the absentee ballots, the elections, and where you can mail your ballot to.

Sandra Koehn, County Election Board Secretary, says voters must be registered and reside within geographical boundaries of a school district to vote in said school district. Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he/she is eligible to vote.

“While anyone can vote absentee without giving a reason, the law still provides several excuses, and it is to the advantage of some voters to use one of them,” Koehn states.

Reasons you may consider absentee ballots are if you are: physically incapacitated or a care taker for someone who is, voters who reside in nursing homes and military personnel and/or spouse/family member who resides overseas. Military personnel should contact the Voting Service office for more information. They can also log onto www.fvap.gov/oklahoma.

Voters who have requested an absentee ballot can track their ballot at http://www.ok.gov/elections/Voter_Info/Online_Voter_Tool/. Ballots must be in the hands of county election board by 7:00 pm, on Election Day in order to be counted.