LITTLE ROCK — Election officials must begin mailing absentee ballots to military and overseas voters today Secretary of State Mark Martin said Thursday.
Arkansas law requires county clerks to begin mailing the ballots no later than 46 days before an election.
Martin’s spokesman Alex Reed said some clerks have already started sending out ballots.
The law applies to Arkansas voters living overseas or who are stationed or deployed elsewhere in the United States. The election will be Nov. 6.
The ballots are only sent to voters who qualify under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, according to a new release from the office.
Reed said it’s not too late to request a ballot.
“This date is not a ‘deadline,’ but just a guarantee to the overseas voter to get their ballot,” Reed said.
More information about who qualifies and how to request a ballot is available at sos.arkansas.gov/elections/ Pages/militaryOverseas.aspx.
The last day to request a ballot through each county clerk’s office is seven days before the election, Reed said.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 09/21/2012