How to vote if not here on Elections Day
Are we allowed to vote by absentee ballot in Cayman?
Auntie’s answer: Well, this seems a particularly timely question considering what we have just witnessed from our neighbour to the north. I am a strong believer in every vote counting, no matter the size of the electorate, so that is certainly true here in our relatively tiny home.
A perusal of the Elections Office website provides the answer. There are actually two ways to vote as an “absent elector” – by post or by mobile voting.
If you are going to be off-island on Elections Day, which is 24 May 2017, you can apply for a postal ballot. Of course, you have to wait until after Nomination Day (29 March 2017) to receive that. To apply, you need to fill out Form B, which can be found at this link.
Mobile voting means that polling staff will either come to your home on Elections Day or you can go to an early voting station. This is only allowed under the following special circumstances: if are blind, incapacitated, reside in a rest home or are hospitalised on Elections Day.
An important date to note is that the deadline to register to vote in next year’s general election is 31 December 2016.
I also feel inspired to say that the Elections Office website is actually very user friendly and full of helpful information. To those people who may find it odd that I would comment on what should be an obvious state of affairs, I say this: In a column back in March answering a reader’s question about changing their address (See Registering new address with Elections Office), I was horrified to discover a website that would have been hard-pressed to be less helpful.
But in answering this latest question, I did a double and triple take when I went to the website. It is now easy to navigate with clear answers. There is even a specific FAQ about updating an address with an embedded link in the answer to the correct form. Full marks there.
Therefore, I feel pretty confident in suggesting that if you need any more information, go to the Elections Office website. In addition, I have found the office staff to be exceptionally helpful and patient, so I also recommend simply calling them (949-8047) if you have a question.
Category: Ask Auntie
Very difficult to vote here if you are not here.
Its like trying to drive the car whilst not actually in the car.