1. (a) The Secretary of the State shall prescribe and furnish the following materials to municipal clerks: The absentee ballot facsimile, the application for absentee ballot authorized for use at each election or primary, the inner envelope, the outer envelope provided for the return of the ballot to the municipal clerk, the instructions for the use of the absentee ballot and the envelope for mailing of such forms by the clerk to the absentee ballot applicant.
2. (b) The application for absentee ballot shall be in the form of a statement signed under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting. Each application shall contain (1) spaces for the signature under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting of any person who assists the applicant in the completion of an application together with the information required in section 9-140, (2) spaces for the signature and the printed or typed name of the applicant, and (3) a clear and conspicuous notation of the year for which such application's use is authorized.
3. (c) The instructions for the use of the absentee ballot shall be in plain language and shall include the steps to be taken if a vote is to be cancelled or changed, and shall also contain a simple and concise restatement of the provisions of subsection (l) of section 9-150a and section 9-159o concerning rejection of ballots marked in such manner as to identify the voters casting them, and withdrawal of ballots by persons who find they are able to vote at the polls.
4. (d) A sufficient supply of such instructions and envelopes shall be printed to supply the number which the municipal clerk requests or the Secretary of the State deems sufficient.

(1949 Rev., S. 1139; 1953, 1955, S. 642d; 1957, P.A. 517, S. 12; 1963, P.A. 42, S. 3; 214, S. 1; February, 1965, P.A. 59, S. 4; 574, S. 10; P.A. 75-310, S. 9, 11; P.A. 79-363, S. 22, 38; P.A. 84-319, S. 23, 49; P.A. 86-179, S. 8, 53; P.A. 87-382, S. 8, 55; 87-532, S. 2, 10; P.A. 91-286, S. 1; P.A. 96-119, S. 2, 14; P.A. 24-148, S. 8.)

History: 1963 acts required inner envelope to be self-sealing and required the instructions to include a restatement of Sec. 9-151; 1965 acts changed statement to be included in instructions to the effect that a list of candidates and questions will be mailed as soon as available to those not receiving same with the absentee ballot, effective with respect to all elections held on or after January 1, 1966 and deleted provision requiring that statements be sent to applicants in the armed forces automatically but to others only upon their request; P.A. 75-310 deleted provision for the statement to be included in instructions, effective January 1, 1976; P.A. 79-363 made technical changes; P.A. 84-319 eliminated requirement that inner ballot envelope be “self-sealing”; P.A. 86-179 added subsection requiring that application be in form of a statement to be signed under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting, added requirement that instructions be in plain language and include steps to be taken if vote is cancelled or changed; Sec. 9-155 transferred to Sec. 9-139a in 1987; P.A. 87-382, in Subsec. (c), substituted “(l)” for “(m)”; P.A. 87-532 amended Subsec. (b) to require application to contain spaces for signature or stamp of clerk and signature and name of person obtaining application from clerk for another person, statement that any such signature or stamp made under penalties of false statement in absentee balloting, and spaces for signature and name of applicant; P.A. 91-286 deleted depository envelopes used in counting absentee ballots from list of materials that secretary is required to furnish under Subsec. (a); P.A. 96-119 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provision allowing an application to contain a stamp of the municipal clerk in lieu of a signature and to add language requiring an application to contain the signature “of any person who assists the applicant in the completion of an application together with the information required in section 9-140”, effective May 24, 1996; P.A. 24-148 amended Subsec. (a) to add “authorized for use at each election or primary” and amended Subsec. (b) to add Subdiv. (3) re clear and conspicuous notation of year, effective January 1, 2025.