BATON ROUGE
, La. - The East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Votes will begin sending out mail-in ballots to nearly 21,000 people Friday, Oct. 2.
The office will continue to accept ballot requests from eligible voters through Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m., however, Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn advises people that the United States Postal Service (USPS) recommends people request a ballot as early as possible, and at least 15 days before Election Day.
Due to the high number of absentee ballots expected to be filled out this year, Raborn advises people to read them carefully and follow all directions exactly to be sure their vote gets counted. The USPS recommends ballots be mailed in at least seven days before the deadline, which is Nov. 2.
INFO FOR VOTERS
Read all instructions before voting.
• If you have internet access, watch the Secretary of State’s YouTube video, which shows how to properly complete and return your ballot
• East Baton Rouge ballots are printed on two sheets of paper, some printed on front and back
• When marking your ballot, completely fill in the ovals next to your choice(s)
• Place all pages of the voted ballot in the ballot envelope and seal it, but do not remove the flap
• Complete all information on the ballot envelope’s affidavit flap, including the date of election, and mother’s maiden name
• Sign and print your name on the ballot envelope in the presence of a witness. Anyone may serve as your witness.
• Your witness must sign and print their name on the ballot envelope
• Do not remove the flap from the ballot envelope
• Place the sealed ballot envelope in the return envelope that is addressed to the Registrar of Voters
• East Baton Rouge ballots require first class postage in the amount of 70 cents on the return envelope
• If you prefer, you may hand-deliver your voted ballot to any location of the Registrar of Voters Office (or any early voting site during the early voting period). No person except an immediately family member of the voter may hand-deliver more than one marked ballot to the Registrar of Voters.
• Check that your ballot has been received by the Registrar of Voters using the Secretary of State’s voter portal at here
Raborn says every ballot envelope must have a witness signature. Voters must sign their ballot envelope in the presence of a witness, then also have the witness sign. He says a missing witness signature is the most common reason an absentee ballot gets rejected.