13-13-212. Application for absentee ballot -- special provisions -- annual absentee ballot list. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), an elector may apply for an absentee ballot by using a standard application form provided by rule by the secretary of state pursuant to 13-1-210 or by making a written request, which must include the applicant's birth date and must be signed by the applicant. The request must be submitted to the election administrator of the applicant's county of residence within the time period specified in 13-13-211.
     (b) A person who holds a power of attorney from an absent uniformed services elector may apply for an absentee ballot for that election on behalf of the uniformed services elector. The applicant shall provide a copy of the power of attorney authorizing the request for an absentee ballot along with the application.
     (2) (a) If an elector requests an absentee ballot because of a sudden illness or health emergency, the application for an absentee ballot may be made by written request signed by the elector at the time that the ballot is delivered in person by the special absentee election board provided for in 13-13-225.
     (b) The elector may request by telephone, facsimile transmission, or other means to have a ballot and application personally delivered by the special absentee election board at the elector's place of confinement, hospitalization, or residence within the county.
     (c) A request under this subsection (2) must be received by the election administrator within the time period specified in 13-13-211(2).
     (3) An elector who has made a request for an absentee ballot by one of the methods provided in this section may, in the event of the death of a candidate after the primary election but before the general election, make a request for a replacement ballot. The request for a replacement ballot may be made orally to the election administrator.
     (4) (a) An elector may at any time request to be mailed an absentee ballot for each subsequent election in which the elector is eligible to vote or only for each subsequent federal election in which the elector is eligible to vote for as long as the elector remains qualified to vote and resides at the address provided in the initial application. The request may be made when the individual applies for voter registration using the standard application form provided for in 13-1-210.
     (b) The election administrator shall annually mail a forwardable address confirmation form to each elector who has requested an absentee ballot for subsequent elections. The address confirmation form must be mailed in January. The address confirmation form is for elections to be held between February 1 following the mailing through January of the succeeding year. The elector shall sign the form, indicate the address to which the absentee ballot should be sent, and return the form to the election administrator. If the form is not completed and returned, the election administrator shall remove the elector from the annual absentee ballot list.
     (c) An elector who has been removed from the annual absentee ballot list may subsequently request to be mailed an absentee ballot for each subsequent election.
     (5) In a mail ballot election, ballots must be sent under mail ballot procedures rather than under the absentee ballot procedures set forth in subsection (4).

     History: En. Sec. 122, Ch. 368, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 287, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 23-3704; amd. Sec. 119, Ch. 571, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 239, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 591, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 85, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 164, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 36, Ch. 414, L. 2003; amd. Secs. 14, 25, Ch. 557, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 284, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 286, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 586, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 221, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 358, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 219, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 297, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 101, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 111, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 182, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 38, Ch. 242, L. 2011.