Absentee ballots for the Nov. 7 Milford municipal election will be available starting on Friday, Oct. 6 at the Milford City Clerk’s Office located at 70 West River St. After completing the application and presenting identification, voters can obtain an absentee ballot.
There are six reasons that a voter can vote by absentee ballot: active service in the armed forces; absence from Milford during the election; sickness; religious tenets that forbid secular activity on election day; duties as an election official; and physical disability.
Recent changes in state law have expanded the reasons for voting by absentee ballot. Sickness is interpreted as a voter’s personal illness or a widespread disease such as a pandemic or public health emergency like COVID-19 that poses a risk to a voter’s health.
A voter can also select “sickness” if the voter is a caretaker of an individual afflicted by personal sickness or whose condition may be aggravated by exposure to sickness. An example would be a caretaker for an immunocompromised individual whose risk of severe illness could be exacerbated by exposure to a sickness like COVID-19. In that situation, the caretaker may determine that this risk of sickness renders them unable to appear at their polling location. Therefore, the caretaker would be eligible to vote absentee due to “sickness.”
Disability includes a voter who is unable to appear at the polling place or only able to appear with the assistance of another or through great personal exertion. Disability can also be selected by a voter who cares for someone with a disability.
Voters can contact the Milford City Clerk’s Office at 203-783-3210 with any questions.