Individuals have been able to apply for an absentee ballot for a while now, but absentee voting is yet to start.

Guthrie County Auditor Dani Fink says that residents have until 5pm on October 21st to request an absentee ballot. Any request received from now until October 16th will be mailed out on October 17th, and that they will send ballots out daily from October 17th to 21st as request forms come in, but any requests for a ballot after that will not receive one.

Fink tells Raccoon Valley Radio that before anyone goes to vote, they need to make sure they’re still listed as an active voter.

“So it used to be if you missed two general elections, then the state would make you inactive, (and) send you a notice. It was actually called a ‘no activity card.’ You would get it in the mail, and then it was just kind of a confirmation of, ‘Yes, I’m still here, still live where I live. I just haven’t voted, but I still want to stay active.’ A couple years ago, they changed that so now if you miss one general election, you get this no activity card where they have made you inactive until your local Auditor’s office receives that card saying that you’ve checked off that you still live there.”

Fink mentions that to register or reregister, individuals just need their driver’s license, as long as it shows you live at your recorded address. If it does not reflect that, in the case that you moved, a bill that has been sent to your current address will work as a way of verifying your residence, and you can register. Once absentee ballots have been mailed out, they must be returned by 8pm on November 5th. In person early voting may be done from October 16th to November 4th.