Physically Disabled Voters May Receive An Absentee Ballot Application 1/28/21

Hanover Town Clerk, Catherine Harder-Bernier, today reminded registered Hanover voters and caregivers of registered Hanover voters that the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill in 2013 that amended election laws pertaining to permanently disabled voters.  Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 54, Section 86 reads in part, “A voter who will be unable by reason of permanent disability to cast his vote in person at the polling place may file once with the city or town clerk a certificate executed by a registered physician who is personally acquainted with the voter and aware of his permanent disability, stating that it is reasonably certain because of permanent physical disability that the voter will be unable to cast his vote in person at the polling place on the day of the election.”

Once that letter from the physician has been received by the Hanover Town Clerk’s Office, the voter will once a year automatically receive an application for an absentee ballot by mail.  The application may then be filled out and returned to the Hanover Town Clerk’s Office, and will be good for the calendar year if the voter so designates.  Absentee ballots, as they become available prior to an election, will then be automatically mailed to the permanently disabled voter.

“This is a relatively simple way to save time and ease the load of a permanently disabled voter or caregiver.  Just send us a letter from your family physician and we will take it from there.  I am pleased to be able to continue to offer this service to Hanover residents”, said Town Clerk Harder-Bernier.

For more information about this process, please contact Hanover Town Clerk Catherine Harder-Bernier at catherine.harderbernier@hanover-ma.gov or 781-826-5000, ext. 1079.  Letters from physicians regarding a patient’s permanent disability may be sent to Catherine Harder-Bernier, Hanover Town Clerk, 550 Hanover Street, Hanover, MA  02339.