County election officials explain the absentee ballot process

As Election Day approaches and the recent mailing of absentee ballots, Lincoln County officials have been deluged with questions.

Tammy Lauer, Lincoln County Election Administrator, and Leigh Riggleman, Assistant Election Administrator, have answered numerous questions regarding the absentee ballot process.  

Absentee ballots are prepared for mailing by a panel of trained election judges. More than 3,000 ballots were mailed Oct. 9, and those  absentee ballots are only sent to voters who have requested a ballot in writing.  

Voters can mail their voted ballots back, via the Post Office or they can drop them off at the Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder’s office.  A ballot box is located on the counter of the office which is monitored by Clerk and Recorder staff and is emptied once or twice a day.  

A returned absentee ballot is receipted into the state computer system with a numerical identification that is specific only to that particular voter’s ballot.  Lincoln County officials also check that every signature on an absentee ballot envelope matches the signature they have on file.  

If the signature does not appear to match their records or if there is no signature on the affidavit envelope, the voter is contacted by phone.  Any ballot that is deposited into the ballot box that is not enclosed in a signed affidavit envelope will not be accepted or counted.  

The receipted ballots are then deposited in a locked ballot box that is opened on Election Day to be processed by another panel of certified election judges. 

All accepted absentee ballots are counted along with all ballots from the polls on Election Day. 

The Clerk’s Office assures every absentee voter that they count every ballot that is returned by 8 p.m. on election night.