The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

Jefferson County absentee voter portal set to open

Jefferson County residents who are eligible to vote absentee in the November election will be able to request a ballot online beginning Saturday.

In a news release issued Wednesday, officials from the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office said the period to request an absentee ballot will run until Oct. 22. Voters who meet the state’s absentee voter qualificat­ions can submit a request by visiting govote.ky.gov online.

Voters who receive an absentee ballot can return their ballot by mail or deliver it to a secure county clerk’s office drop box. Drop boxes will be available at all county polling locations during Election Day and in-person absentee voting hours. Absentee ballots can also be turned in at the Jefferson County Clerk Election Center, located at 1000 E. Liberty St., during office hours.

Voters planning to submit their absentee ballot in a drop box have until 6p.m. on Nov. 5.

Voters have to qualify for at least one of the following categories to be considered an eligible absentee voter in Kentucky, according to the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office:

● A resident of Kentucky who is a member of the Armed Forces and their dependents or voters residing overseas

● A student who temporaril­y resides outside the county of his or her residence

● A voter who is incarcerat­ed in jail and charged with a crime, but has not been convicted

● A voter who is changing or has changed his or her place of residence to a different state while the registrati­on books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for president and vice president of the United States, in which case the voter shall be permitted to cast a mail-in absentee ballot for electors for president and vice president of the united states only

● A voter who temporaril­y resides outside the state, but is still eligible to vote in this state prevented from voting in-person at the polls on election day and from casting an excused or no-excuse in-person absentee ballot on all days in-person absentee voting is conducted because he or she will be absent from the county of his or her residence all hours and all days excused or no excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted

● A participan­t in the Secretary of

State’s crime victim address confidenti­ality protection program

● A voter who is not able to appear at the polls on election day or the days inperson absentee voting is conducted on account of age, disability, or illness, and who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdicti­on.

If a person has a medical emergency 14 days or less of an election, a registered voter or their spouse may apply for an absentee ballot.

For more informatio­n, call 502-5745886 or 502-574-5889.

Jefferson County voters can find more informatio­n about absentee voting on the clerk’s office’s website, www .jeffersonc­ountyclerk.org.