HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR THE JULY 6, 2006, MSTU VOTE

• An Absentee Ballot is defined as one that is requested to be sent to an address that is different from the address on record with the Gulf County Elections Office. These ballots should be requested before all ballots are mailed 20 days prior (June 16, 2006) to the July 6, 2006, election. Voters can request Absentee Ballots for one of the following reasons and, in doing so, must state the reason at the time of the request. If the request is made in person, the reason must be written on the absentee request form.

1. The elector is temporarily unable to occupy residence because of hurricane, tornado, flood, fire or other emergency or natural disaster. Mailing address must be updated.
2. The voter will be absent from the county and does not plan to return before the day of the election (July 6, 2006).
3. The voter is in a hospital or other facility that will make it impossible to receive the ballot within the allotted time frame at their address of record.

• All ballots will be mailed to the address of record on file in the Elections Office or the absentee address submitted 20 days before the election and should be promptly filled out and returned, either in person or via U.S. Mail, to the Gulf County Supervisor of Election’s Office to ensure that all vote is counted. All ballots must be received by 7:00 P.M. on Election Day to be counted.
• If you have not voted in the past two elections and/or the Supervisor of Elections has received returned mail from you, it is likely that you have been placed on Inactive Voter Status. If you are listed as Inactive, you will not be mailed a ballot for this election. Your status needs to be changed ASAP if you wish to participate in the election and have a ballot mailed to you. To change your status, contact the Supervisor of Elections’ Office to find out how to reactivate your voting status.
• The deadline for new voters to register was June 7, 2006. Anyone registering after that date will not be allowed to vote in this election.
• When sending your ballot back to the Elections’ Office, only include one ballot per envelope.
• Please remember to place 63 CENTS IN POSTAGE on your ballot envelope when returning it to the Supervisor of Election's office.  Ballots with no or insufficient postage will not be delivered.
• Be sure to follow directions for completing the voter’s certificate on the back side of the envelope. The certificate must be signed by the voter and the voter’s Gulf County Residence address must be listed in order for the ballot to count. Power of Attorney is not acceptable when registering to vote or voting an absentee ballot.

While many forms can be downloaded from the Supervisor of Elections’ website, www.votegulf.com you may also contact the office at 850-229-6117 or gulfsoe@gtcom.net to check your status or for additional voting clarification.

Many thanks to Supervisor of Elections Linda Griffin for composing much of this Voter's FAQ.