THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410200143
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Over Easy
SOURCE: Jo-Ann Clegg
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
A thought hit me hard last week. Jessica (or Alexander, we don't know which yet) is due to arrive at just about the same time that Marshall, Ollie and Chuck are going to be slugging it out at the polls.
I've never yet missed an opportunity to vote and I don't intend to miss this one. On the other hand, I've never been a grandmother before and I don't intend to miss that occasion either.
Of course J/A's time of arrival is only an estimate at this point, so I may not even have a problem. But in case the kid does decide to check in on schedule I figured I'd better be prepared.
I called the Voter Registrar's office and pleaded my case. ``Hey,'' I yelled somewhat frantically, ``I think I may be out of town becoming a grandmother on Election Day. Can I still vote?''
The nice person on the other end of the line assured me that being out of town for business or vacation is reason enough to get an absentee ballot.
I thought about that for a second or so. J/A's other grandmother and I plan to take turns playing newborn nanny. Somehow the word ``vacation'' doesn't quite fit when you leave home with a suitcase full of pacifiers, Pampers, burp towels, baby oil and diaper rash ointment topped off by a well-thumbed 1959 edition of Dr. Spock.
``This is definitely a business trip,'' I told the clerk in the registrar's office, even though she hadn't asked.
She took my Social Security number, determined that I was a registered voter and assured me that my ballot application was on its way.
When it arrived the next day, I filled it out, had Bill (who, since he never mastered the art of diaper changing and barely passed the one-handed burp test, is not on call for nanny duty) witness it. Then I popped it into the fax machine and sent it flying back to the registrar's office.
I found out later that my quick turnaround was not a speed record.
``We have some people, usually college kids or military people, who call us for the application, stand by a fax machine waiting for it to arrive, fill it out, get someone to witness it, then fax it right back,'' Voter Registrar Marlene Hager told me.
That's about 24 minutes from deciding that you want to vote to having an application on file. Some manage to do it faster yet. ``The registrar in any Virginia college town can provide the student with an application form,'' Hager said. ``Some will even fax it back to us for them.''
The ballot itself, along with some important and well written instructions, was in my mail box the following day.
I asked Hager about the efficiency of the process. ``We try to get everything back the day that we get the request,'' she told me.
The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot to be mailed is Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. And there's even a walk-in option for those who push deadlines to the limit. They have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 5 to show up at the registrar's office at the Municipal Center, fill out the application form and get the ballot all in the same trip.
``They can even vote then if they want to,'' Hager said. ``We take walk-in absentee ballots as well as mailed-in ones. We've been accepting those for about four weeks now.''
So who qualifies to vote absentee besides prospective grandmothers, politically correct college students and the guys and gals out there in the trenches and on the oceans?
According to a little brochure that Hager sent me the list includes:
Anyone who can't get to the polls because of illness or disability;
Spouses and dependents of active duty military and members of the Merchant Marine and;
People who are regularly employed outside the continental United States, their spouses and dependents.
``We can even make arrangements for those who are hospitalized unexpectedly, so long as they can let us know before 5 p.m. the day before the election,'' Hager said.
``Like my daughter-in-law, if J/A decides to show up the day before Election Day?'' I asked. ``Exactly,'' Hager said.
``What else should we know about absentee voting?'' I asked.
``First of all, you have to be registered to request a ballot and that deadline has passed,'' she explained.
``Second, it's a two-step process. You need to request and fill out the application first, then you need to complete and return the ballot.
``And, finally, make sure that everything is witnessed,'' she warned. ``That's the biggest problem we have. People return the applications and the ballots without having them witnessed. Sometimes it's too late to get that corrected.''
She even had some good news on that score, though. ``We're open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the last two Saturdays before the election and absentee voters have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to get their ballots in, just like those who go to the polls do.'' by CNB