Advance voting for Washington’s November 8 City Council race begins Monday, October 31, and absentee voting is available now for those who will be unable to vote in person.

Advance voting opens Monday morning and goes through Friday, November 4 at 5 p.m. No reason is needed for registered voters to vote in advance.

Absentee voting rules, however, require that voters must request an absentee ballot by mail using an absentee application, which is available from the Wilkes County Board of Registrars office in the courthouse, chief registrar Gladys Reese said.

Some applications are coming back with incomplete information, however.

“The application must be completed with all the required information for a ballot to be mailed to the voter,” Reese said. “Without all the information, your application will have to be mailed back to you to be completed, and then mailed back to this office before a ballot can be issued. The last day a ballot can be mailed to a voter is Friday, November 4, so please take time to carefully fill out the application, or call us at the voter registrar’s office at 678-1850 with any questions.”

The voter registrar’s office is open now for absentee voting Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Absentee voting is allowed for several reasons. For example, a voter who is required to be absent from the precinct on election day, or one who is unable to vote in person because of a physical disability may cast an absentee ballot. Other reasons accepted for absentee voting include being a caregiver to a disabled person, being an election official, being in a public safety role on election day, or being 75 years old or older.

Advance voting, which has been growing in popularity, does not require voters to have a reason for voting early, and will run at local precincts from 8 a.m. Monday, October 31 through 5 p.m. Friday, November 4.

This year, there will be no voting on Monday, November 7, prior to the election on Tuesday, Reese said. “Friday, November 4 will be the last day to mail a ballot or vote in the office. After 5 p.m. on November 4, your only option to vote is to go to the polls and vote on Election Day.”