Absentee, Physically Disabled & Specially Qualified Voting

Absentee Ballots

Voters who are unable to vote at the polls on Election Day due to absence from Town during polling hours, physical disability, or religious beliefs, may vote by Absentee ballot by submitting an absentee ballot application.

Get an Absentee Ballot Application

Return an Absentee Ballot Application

  • Scan your application and email it to the Town Clerk's Office. Please remember to sign your application.
  • Deposit the application in the Town Clerk's Depository Box in the circle outside of Town Offices.
  • Mail the application to:
    Town Clerk's Office
    1625 Massachusetts Avenue
    Lexington, MA, 02420

Deadlines for Return of Absentee Ballot Applications

If the absentee ballot is to be mailed to voter for the March 6, 2023 Town Election, the application must be received by the Town Clerk before 5 pm on Monday, February 27, 2023. Absentee applications for voter to vote in person at the Office of the Town Clerk, must be received by the Town Clerk before 5 pm on Friday, March 3, 2023.

For a primary election, an "unenrolled" (independent) voter must choose which ballot to vote. Ballot of choice must be indicated on all applications.

Returning Absentee Ballots

A voter must return an Absentee ballot in the designated envelope. The voter must fill out the information on the front of the envelope and sign the envelope, thereby attesting:

Under the penalties of perjury, I swear (or affirm) that I am a registered voter in Massachusetts at the address below, that I will not cast a ballot in any other city or town or voting location, and that the information below is true.

Absentee ballots must be received before the polls close on Election Day to be counted. However, absentee ballots, completed outside the U.S., for the State general election will be counted if received by 5 pm on the 10th day following the election. This exception does not apply to Lexington Town elections or State primaries.

Permanently Physically Disabled Voters

A voter who is permanently disabled need not submit an application for an absentee ballot for every election, if the voter submits a written statement from a registered physician indicating a permanent disability. In such cases, the Town Clerk will mail the registered voter an application for an absentee ballot at least 28 days before every election. The application will be as complete as the Town Clerk can make it, and the voter in most cases need only sign the application and return it. Upon the Town Clerk's receipt of the signed application, the voter will be sent an absentee ballot.

Ballots may be returned by mail or to the Town Clerk's secure Depository Box by the voter or by a family member. All ballot envelopes must be signed by the voter or, if the voter is unable to sign, by the assisting person. The assisting person must sign the voter's name, and their own name as the assistant.

Emergency Absentee

If you have been admitted to a healthcare facility after 12 pm on the 7th day before an election you may use the Absentee application to designate someone of your choice to deliver a ballot to you.

The person you designate to deliver your ballot will need to bring the signed Absentee application to the Town Clerk's Office, pick up your ballot, bring it to you, and return it for you by the close of polls (8 pm) on Election Day. Emergency ballots may be requested up until the close of the polls.

Specially Qualified Voters

In addition to registered voters, certain "specially qualified voters" may vote by absentee ballot. A "specially qualified voter" is a person who is a Massachusetts citizen, living outside of the United States, who is at least 18 years old, and whose last residence in the United States was Massachusetts. Read more about Overseas Citizens

You also may be a "specially qualified voter" if you are otherwise eligible to be a registered voter and your present domicile (a place where you live and plan to remain) is Massachusetts and you are:

  • Out of town because you are in the active service of the armed forces or merchant marine of the United States, or a spouse or dependent of such person
  • Absent from Massachusetts
  • Confined in a correctional facility or jail, except if by reason of felony conviction