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Absentee Ballots

In the State of Connecticut, State Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years. Municipal Elections take place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in odd-numbered years biennially. Special Town elections may be called from time to time in accordance with the General Statutes. You may vote by absentee ballot if:

  • You are an active member of the armed forces of the United States.
  • You will be out of town on Election Day.
  • Sickness.
  • Your religious beliefs prevent you from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day.
  • You will be performing duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own during all the hours of voting on Election Day.
  • Physical Disability

If you can affirm any of the above situations, you are eligible to vote absentee.

To confirm your voter registration and locate your polling place, click here

If you would like to see the list of write-in candidates, please contact the Town Clerk's Office. 

APPLY FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
**NEW** Voters with a Connecticut driver's license can request an absentee ballot online rather than having to mail in an application or visit their town clerk in person. Please click here to access the online absentee ballot request portal. If you do not have a valid CT DMV ID on file with the state, then you must complete a paper application.  See below.

For a general election or primary, please use the Application for Absentee Ballot:

For a referendum with less than 3 weeks’ notice, please use the Application for Absentee Ballot for Referendum Authorized to Be Held With Less than 3 Weeks’ Notice:

After completing the absentee ballot application, please mail it, place it in the absentee ballot drop box on Bailey Avenue or bring it in person to the Town Clerk's Office at 400 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877.

Who can download an application for absentee ballot? An application for absentee ballot may be downloaded by an individual for:

  • The individual's own use
  • The use of a member of the individual's immediate family
  • The use of a designee of the applicant

NOTE: Any person who will distribute five (5) or more absentee ballot applications to persons other than the individual's immediate family must register with and obtain forms from the Town Clerk of the municipality where such forms will be distributed before distributing such forms. 

What happens after I send in my application?

  • Your Town Clerk will process your application.
  • An absentee ballot will be mailed to you beginning:
    • 31 days before a general election
    • 21 days before a primary
    • 19 days before a referendum
    • Or if your application is received after the above dates, your ballot will be mailed to you as soon as your application is processed.
  • Complete the ballot, carefully following the instructions that are included and return it by mail, in person, or drop it in the Official Ballot Box located at the Bailey Avenue entrance to Town Hall.
  • Only complete absentee ballots received before the close of polls on the day of the election will be counted.

MILITARY & OVERSEAS VOTERS

Military and Overseas Voters, please click here for information to request an Absentee Ballot

PERMANENT ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Public Act 12-57, “An Act Concerning Permanent Absentee Ballot Status for the Permanently Disabled” created permanent absentee balloting status for certain individuals and became effective January 1, 2013.

To be eligible for permanent absentee ballot status, an elector must file with the Town Clerk an absentee ballot application together with a doctor’s certificate stating that they have a permanent disability and are unable to appear in person at their polling place. The doctor’s note should be on letterhead. There is no prescribed form—the doctor’s note and the absentee ballot application would satisfy the requirement of the law.

Permanent absentee ballot status enables the elector to receive an absentee ballot for each election, primary, and referendum in the municipality in which they are eligible to vote.  Absentee ballots are available 21 days before a Primary and 31 days before an Election. 

In January of each year the Registrars of Voters will send written notice to each elector with permanent absentee ballot status to determine if the elector continues to reside at the address on the permanent absentee ballot application. If the elector fails to respond to the notice, the permanent absentee ballot status will be removed, but the elector will remain on the voter registration list.