[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/30/art.absentee1030.gi.jpg caption="Some voters still haven't received absentee ballots."]
(CNN) – With less than a week until Election Day, some voters are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of their absentee ballots.
Max Lohrey of La Junta in Otero County, Colorado called CNN’s voter hotline concerned that a missing absentee ballot might have “fallen into the hands of the wrong people . . . is this going to be used for fraud?”
Chawnte Williams, is registered to vote in the Denver area but is currently out of state. Williams reports that she requested an absentee ballot earlier this month and was informed that it would not arrive until the end of October because of printing problems. When the ballot did not arrive as scheduled, she called to check on it again, and was told by her local election officials that they had no record of her requesting an absentee ballot.
“So because of somebody’s clerical error, now it looks like I might not be able to vote,” Williams said on the hotline. "I feel like I'm not going to be able to vote and there's no reason why," Williams also told CNN in a telephone interview Thursday.
Colorado voters who still have not received their absentee ballot should visit GoVoteColorado.com and access Colorado’s voter registration search engine, says Colorado Secretary of State spokesman Richard Coolidge. The search engine tracks the status of absentee ballots - including whether they have been mailed out, or been returned to election officials in the mail.
Sharon Sisnroy, the Otero County Clerk, told CNN that voters in her county should call or fax an application for a replacement absentee ballot. Once that request is received, Sisnroy’s office will mail out another absentee ballot. Alternatively, Sisnroy advises, voters can come to the Otero Election Division in person and complete the application for a replacement absentee ballot and then obtain the new ballot in person as well.
Some CNN voter hotline callers from Florida have expressed similar concerns. Dr. Stuart Schwartz of Palm Beach County, Florida tells CNN he hasn’t received a replacement absentee ballot after he had to return the first one mailed to him because it was not the proper ballot for him to use to vote.
A caller who lives in Bahamas also reports that she hasn’t received her absentee ballot from Broward County, Florida, even though she has “been trying for weeks” to get in touch with election officials. “It’s impossible for me to vote without receiving my ballot,” the caller said. “I’m unable to go there in person obviously.”
Florida voters who are still awaiting absentee ballots should call their local supervisor in the county where they are registered, according to Jennifer Davis, of the Elections Division in the Florida Secretary of State’s office.
Click here for links to more information about early voting