Absentee ballots do not need to be notarized

Recent social media posts suggesting residents would need to have their absentee ballots notarized to mail them to the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office are untrue, according to Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane.

Should a resident want to vote using an absentee ballot, they only need to send the completed ballot to the county courthouse, where it will be tabulated with other ballots.

The initial confusion resulted from a February Green River Star article that erroneously reported the ballots would need to be notarized. The online article has since been corrected.

Absentee ballots are becoming a topic for clerks around the state as August and November voting may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lane said she’s anticipating more absentee ballots than usual if restrictions and social distancing recommendations are not relaxed in time for the elections.