6 AAC 25.570 - Witnessing absentee by-mail ballot
(a) A voter voting
an absentee ballot by mail must have the voter's ballot certification on the
envelope witnessed by
(1) an official
authorized to administer an oath or by one individual 18 years of age or older
as required by
AS
15.20.081(d); or
(2) an election official appointed under
AS
15.10.120 or an absentee voting official
appointed under
AS
15.20.045 during the official's term as
described in
6
AAC 25.032.
(b) An official authorized to administer an
oath or other individual serving as a witness to an absentee ballot voted by
mail is attesting that the voter subscribed and swore to the oath in the
presence of the witness and that to the best of the witness's knowledge
(1) the voter is the person he or she claims
to be; and,
(2) the voter is the
person who voted the ballot.
(c) In serving as a witness as described in
(a) of this section, an individual must execute the witnessing affidavit by
signing the witness's name. The signature of the witness may be any written or
printed form of the witness's name or initials, or any mark intended as a
signature.
(d) If the signature of
a witness as described in (a) of this section appears on the affidavit in a
place other than the correct space provided, the incorrect placement of the
signature will not cause the ballot to be rejected.
(e) A notary public commissioned in this
state and serving as a witness on an absentee by-mail ballot oath and affidavit
envelope shall affix the notary public's notary seal and indicate the date on
which the notary's commission expires. However, failure of the notary to affix
the seal or to provide the date on which the notary's commission will expire
will not cause the ballot to be rejected if the notary's authority can be
verified through official notary records on file with the lieutenant
governor.
(f) An official witness
authorized to administer an oath shall provide the official's title, the date
of attestation, and the location at which the attestation took place. However,
failure of an official witness to provide the official's title, or provision of
a title other than a title specified in
AS
15.20.081(d) will not cause
the ballot to be rejected. In addition, failure of the official witness to
state the date of attestation or the location at which the attestation took
place will not cause the ballot to be rejected if other information provided on
the ballot is sufficient to reasonably determine that the ballot was voted on
or before election day.
(g) Failure
of a United States postal official serving as a witness to sign the attestation
will not cause the ballot to be rejected if the postal official affixes the
postal station's official postal stamp.
(h) An individual over the age of 18 who
serves as a witness to a voter's certificate shall be asked to state the date
of attestation, and the location at which the attestation took place. However,
failure of the official witness to state the date of attestation, or the
location at which the attestation took place will not cause the ballot to be
rejected if other information provided on the certificate is sufficient to
reasonably determine that the ballot was voted on or before election
day.
(i) A voter may not serve as a
witness on the voter's own ballot certification on the envelope. The ballot of
a voter who has signed as a witness to the voter's own voter certificate will
not be counted.
Notes
Before Register 115, October 1990, the substance of 6 AAC 25.570 appeared in former 6 AAC 25.110.
Authority:AS 15.15.010
AS 15.15.220
AS 15.20.081
AS 15.20.203
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.