The deadline for Absentee Ballot Applications for the November 2, 2004 State Election is 12:00 noon, Monday, November 1, 2004. However, practically speaking, the earlier the application is submitted, the better, particularly if the ballot is being sent out of state or out of the country. 

Absentee Ballot Application   (PDF)

Absentee Ballot Application by a Family Member  (PDF)

Absentee Voters

Voters who are unable to vote on Election Day because of physical disability, religious beliefs, or absence from the Town may vote by absentee ballot. State law limits the availability of absentee ballots to the three listed circumstances only. Absentee ballots are not available for mere inconvenience, or because of ordinary commuting-related difficulties. If you will be absent from Brookline for an extended period of time, you may submit a single application for all elections occurring within the year the application is accepted.

Applications for absentee ballots may be obtained from the Town Clerk or the Office of the Secretary of State. Applications may be submitted in person, or by mail. The voter, or a "family member" (father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, a spouse or person residing in the same household, in-laws, adopting parent or adopted child, stepparent or stepchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew), may submit an application. The voter or family member must sign all applications under the pains and penalties of perjury.

In primary elections, a voter who is not registered in a political party must specify the ballot of the party of choice in the application. In state primaries you will not become registered in a party because of your participation. However, in presidential preference primaries, held in March a voter does become a member of the party for which a ballot is chosen. While you can change your registration status back to "unenrolled" (independent) immediately after voting, your temporary enrollment in a party may affect your ability to run as a party candidate.

Applications for absentee ballots must be received by the Town Clerk before 12:00 noon the day before an election. (A voter who is admitted to a health care facility after noon of the fifth day before an election may apply for a ballot up until the close of the polls and may request to have the ballot delivered.) Absentee ballots generally are available three weeks before an election.

Permanently disabled Voters

A voter who is permanently disabled need not submit a request for an absentee ballot every election. If such a voter submits a note from a registered physician indicating that they are disabled permanently, the Town Clerk will send an application for an absentee ballot twenty-eight days before every election. Upon receipt of the signed application, the Town Clerk will send the voter an absentee ballot.

If the voter submits the application in person, he may obtain the ballot (call first to see if it is available) and vote over-the-counter. If the ballot is not available, it will be sent to the voter when available. When the application is submitted in person by a family member, the ballot is sent by mail to the voter. In all other cases, the ballot is sent by mail. Ballots may be returned by mail or in person by the voter or a family member. All ballots must be signed by the voter, or if the voter is unable to sign, an assisting person.

Specially Qualified Voters

In addition to registered voters, certain "specially qualified voters" may vote by absentee ballot. A "specially qualified voter" is a person who is a Massachusetts citizen, living outside of the United States, who is at least eighteen years old and whose last residence in the United States was Massachusetts. You also may be a "specially qualified voter" if you are otherwise eligible to be a registered voter and your present domicile (a place where you live and plan to remain) is Massachusetts and you are: out of the Town because you are in the active service of the armed forces or merchant marine of the United States, or a spouse or dependent of such a person; absent from the Commonwealth; or confined in a correctional facility or jail.