Absentee Voting 

In order to request an absentee ballot, you must fulfill one of the qualifications below.  If you do not, you may apply for a vote-by-mail ballot, or vote during in-person early voting or on election day. 

You may apply for an absentee ballot if you will be unable to vote at the polls on election day because of:
  • absence from your city or town during the hours the polls are open
  • physical disability
  • religious beliefs
  • admission to the hospital within 1 week of the election
  • under quarantine within 1 week of the election

  A request for an absentee ballot must include:

  • the name as registered to vote 
  • the address at which the applicant is registered to vote
  • the address to which the ballot is to be sent
  • the date the request is being made
  • the applicant's signature - Applications signed with a mouse, stylus, or finger are acceptable; typed signatures are not.
To submit an application:

  • Drop off the signed application at the Town Clerk's Office on the first floor of Town Hall (8:00a - 4:30p) or in the election drop box located outside the Main Street entrance of Town Hall 
  • E-mail applications to vote@amherstma.gov
  • Fax your application to (413) 259-2499
  • Sign your application with your "wet" signature  - Applications signed with a mouse, stylus, or finger are also acceptable; typed signatures are not
  • Absentee ballots must be requested in writing by 5:00pm on the 5th business day before an election.
In order for a ballot to be counted, it must be received in the Town Clerk's office by the close of polls or 8:00p on Election Day. You can return absentee ballots in the election drop box located outside the Main Street entrance of Town Hall; in person at the Town Clerk's Office Monday-Friday 8a- 4:30p; or by mail: Town Clerk, 4 Boltwood Avenue, Amherst, MA 01002. Ballots can NOT be returned to your polling location on Election Day. Don't forget to sign your absentee ballot envelope on line #1.


You can track your ballot to see if the Town Clerk's Office has received and processed your application; when a ballot was sent to you; and when the returned ballot was received and recorded.

Absentee ballots will be opened and inserted into a tabulator by election officials in the correct precinct on election day.

Ballots for State Elections which are voted and mailed from overseas may be counted if they are received up until the tenth day following the election, provided they were postmarked on or before the date of the election.

Electronic Ballots must be received by 8:00pm on election day.  Electronic Ballots are only available for military and overseas voters and only for Federal and State Elections. At this time, electronic ballots are not permitted for use during local Town Elections.  

Voting Absentee In-Person

Absentee ballots are available for over-the-counter voting at the Clerk's Office at least 20 days before each election. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot voted over-the-counter is noon the day before the election.  You may contact the Clerk's Office to find out if absentee ballots are available. Please note that during the Early Voting period, voters can vote in person at Town Hall. 


For more information on absentee voting please click here.