Absentee ballot application deadline approaching

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The probate court of Mobile County reminds residents that March 8, 2012 at 5 p.m. is the deadline to apply for absentee ballots for the Alabama primary election. The primary will be held March 13.

Applications for absentee voting are available at the absentee election manager's office in Mobile government plaza. The applications can also be downloaded and printed here .

Any qualified voter may submit an absentee ballot application by mail or in person to the absentee election manager's office for the following reasons:

• The voter is out of the country or state on election day
• The voter has any physical illness or infirmity which prevents the voter from attending the polls
• The voter works a shift that has at least 10 hours, which coincide with the hours the polls are open at the voter's regular voting place
• The voter is a student enrolled in school outside the county of personal residence
• The voter is a member, spouse or a dependent of a member of the United States Armed Forces, or similarly qualified to vote absentee according to the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
• The voter has been appointed an election officer or named a poll watcher at a polling place other than the voter's regular polling district

Completed ballots must be returned by the voter in person to the absentee election manager at the Mobile Government Plaza no later than 5 p.m. March 12. If they are mailed, it must be postmarked no later than March 12.

Multiple ballots cannot be mailed in the same envelope.

For more information about voting an absentee ballot, contact Mrs. Alleen Barnett in the absentee election manager's office at 251-574-6400.