What should I look out for when using an absentee ballot?

What should I look out for when using an absentee ballot?

Thea Brodkin (Voter Service Chair) gives expert video advice on: What should I look for when filling out a ballot?; What should I look for when using a touch-screen voting machine?; How can I ensure that my provisional ballot is counted? and more...

The big problem with absentee ballot is people don't trust the mail service. If you apply for one and, for some reason, it doesn't show up, then what're you going to do? So people that don't trust the postal service, don't like absentee ballots. But I will say in a huge percentage of the cases, people do get their absentee ballot. I would say make sure you apply one early enough, that you get it in time, so you can get it back in time. If you apply for one right at the deadline, and your postal service is really slow, then you might have a problem with a mail-in ballot. But you could still deliver it to the polling place on election day. Even if it comes late, as long as it comes by election day, you can get it in. An absentee ballot is just like voting at the polls basically. You just don't have the machine. But you do have the book and you say "if you select this candidate, mark number one", so then you put number one. If you want this candidate mark number six, then you mark number six. You must put that back in the envelope because the envelope is your signature envelope; it has your name and address. They've already checked that you're a registered voter, because you wouldn't get an absentee ballot unless you're a registered voter. But they need your signature because they want to make sure that somebody didn't vote on your ballot, and we check signatures on absentee ballots and provisional ballots.