Step 1 taken toward Aug. 1 vote: absentee ballots available
Beginning late last week through July 25, eligible voters in Knox County can request an absentee by mail ballot for the Aug. 1 federal and state Primary, Knox County General and Town of Farragut non-partisan Municipal elections. Application to request an absentee ballot will be found on the front page of www.knoxvotes.org
Completed applications can be delivered in three ways:
• hand-delivered or mailed to 300 Main St., Room 229, Knoxville, TN 37902;
• e-mailed to absenteeballot@knoxcounty.org, or;
• can be faxed to 865-215-4239.
Voters unable to download the application can request an application be mailed to them by calling Knox County Election Commission at 865-215-2480.
KCEC asks voters to note a couple of common mistakes it sees in returned applications:
• Voter must sign the appliction himself/herself. As an example, a spouse’s signature ia not acceptable. Also, application must contain voter’s full Social Security number.
“While the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Thursday, July 25, the Election Commission “strongly recommends voters make their requests much sooner, so as to ensure that there is sufficient time to complete all of the steps in requesting the application, receiving the application, receiving the ballot and ensuring that it is returned to the Election Commission by mail, UPS, Fedex or another mail carrier by Election Day,” a KCEC press release stated.
“Hand-delivered by mail ballots cannot be accepted under Tennessee law, and by mail ballots cannot be dropped off at an early voting or election day polling place,” the press release further stated.
Any voter with a question or needing assistance can call KCEC at 865-215-2480 or can visit www.knoxvotes.org.
