Thursday is the deadline to apply for absentee ballots to vote in the June 14 primary runoffs. The voter then has through Monday, the day before the election, to submit the ballot.

For this election only, people who fear contracting COVID-19 may vote by absentee ballot even though they are not actually ill on election day. Secretary of State John Merrill has encouraged anyone in that situation to vote by absentee and to mark the box that covers physical illness or infirmity as the reason.

Other acceptable reasons for voting an absentee ballot are: being out of the county on election day; having a physical disability or infirmity that affects your ability to go to the polls or mark the ballot; working a 10-hour shift that coincide with the hours the polls are open; being enrolled in a school outside of the county where you are registered; being active duty military or a spouse or dependent a service member on assignment; working at a poll other than the one where you are assigned to vote; being a caregiver for a homebound relative; being incarcerated on a crime that is not a felony involving moral turpitude.

You can apply for an absentee ballot here. The reasons allowed for absentee voting are spelled out in more detail on the application.