When a federal postcard registration and absentee ballot request (FPCA), as defined in subdivision (2), subsection (b), section two of this article, is received by the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting, the official shall examine the application and take the following steps:

(1) The official shall first enter the name of the applicant in the permanent absentee voter's record for each election for which a ballot is requested, make a photocopy of the application for each election for which a ballot is requested and place the separate copies in secure files to be maintained for use in the various elections.

(2) The official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall determine if the applicant is registered to vote at the residence address listed in the voting residence section of the application. If the applicant is not registered, or not registered at the address given, the official shall deliver the original FPCA to the clerk of the county commission for processing, and the clerk of the county commission shall process the application as an application for registration and, if the application is received after the close of voter registration for the next succeeding election, the official shall challenge the absentee ballot for that election.

(3) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this section, the federal application for an absentee ballot received from a person qualified to use the application as provided in section two of this article is to be processed as all other applications and the ballot or ballots for each election for which ballots are requested by the applicant is to be mailed to the voter on the first day on which both the application and the ballot are available.