Absentee ballots and applications will be available at the county circuit clerk’s office beginning January 27.

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is March 8 in order to vote in the March 13 primary election. If needed, a runoff will take place 42 days following the primary.

“I expect about 1,000 absentees,” said Marengo County Circuit Clerk Rusty Nichols. “That’s about what we average, but this is going to be a big election. There’s a lot of interest and a lot of candidates.”

Among the changes that the election season brings will the the re-opening of the clerk’s office on Thursday and Friday.

“Beginning January 27, we’ll be open all week during normal business hours,” Nichols said, “and we’ll stay open through the election cycle – at least through the run off and then through the general election.”

Who can vote absentee:

• Will be absent from the county on election day

• Is ill or has a physical disability that prevents a trip to the polling place

• Is a registered Alabama voter living outside the county, such as a member of the armed forces, a voter employed outside the United States, a college student, or a spouse or child of such a person

• Is an appointed election officer or poll watcher at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place

• Works a required shift, 10-hours or more, that coincides with polling hours

Other absentee voter qualifications: Business/Medical Emergency Voting application can be made after the absentee deadline but no later than 5 p.m. on the day before the election, if the voter is required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on election day for an emergency business trip, or has a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician.