Skip Navigation
You Are In: Citizen Services > Public Services > Voter Information > 1st notice
Skip Left Section Navigation

Voter Information

Voter Assistance 2006-2008

If you have not yet thought about voting in the upcoming general elections or primaries, NOW is the time to do so.  U.S. law guarantees American citizens overseas the right to vote in federal elections in the United States, specifically primaries, general, and special elections for the President, Vice President, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives to Congress. Many (but not all) states have enacted legislation that allows certain categories of citizens living overseas to vote by absentee ballot for state or local officials.  In these cases, the same procedures for obtaining local election ballots are used for obtaining federal election ballots.

Voting overseas is a three-step process: registering, applying for the absentee ballot, and voting. Note that voters may register to vote and apply for their ballot by completing and submitting just one form, the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), described below.  The FPCA is available on-line as well.

The website for the Voting Assistance Guide is http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html. 

1.  REGISTERING 

Most states require citizens residing abroad to register in the state of his/her "voting residence."  A voting residence is the legal residence or domicile in which the voter could vote if present in that state. 

  • Military and Merchant Marine members, their spouses and dependents, may register to vote in the domicile/state that the member claims as his or her residence. 
  • Civilian U.S. government employees overseas, their spouses and dependents, will generally register in the state they claim as their legal residence.
  • Overseas citizens not employed by the U.S. government must vote in their last state of residence immediately prior to departure from the United States.  This applies even if many years have elapsed and the voter has no abode or property in that state or any intention of returning to that state.  Family members of citizens residing overseas, who are U.S. citizens and who have never resided in the United States, usually, if the state allows, claim one of their U.S. citizen parent's legal state or territory of residence as their own.

2. APPLYING FOR THE BALLOT

American citizens voting from overseas must request a ballot from the state where they are registered to vote.  The form used to request a ballot is called the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).  The On-Line Version of the Federal Post Card Application (OFPCA) is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.html. The OFPCA is accepted by all states and territories except American Samoa and Guam.

The Embassy has not yet received any hard-copy FPCAs.  We encourage all qualified voters to use the OFPCA.

Some states may require that the voter's signature on the OFPCA be notarized. Voters should check the requirements for their state, which are available in the Voting Assistance Guide, Chapter 3. If notarization is required, notarization is done (for those normally permitted access) on military installations by appropriate voting assistance personnel.  Notarization is also done (free of charge for this purpose) by the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy, during normal business hours (Sunday-Thursday, 0800-1630).  If the state requires that the voter's signature be witnessed as well as notarized, the voter is responsible for bringing a witness.  Those having notarizations done at the U.S. Embassy should know that Consular Section employees are not allowed to serve as witnesses. 

The OFPCA can be completed on-line and then printed, or printed out and completed. After completing the application, it must be signed, dated and placed in an envelope affixed with proper postage. It is possible your state may accept faxing or e-mailing; you will need to check the website http://www.fvap.gov/services/faxing.html. The Embassy cannot fax your FPCA/OFPCA for you. 

In additon to being faxed or e-mailed, the FPCA or OFPCA must be mailed as well.

The FPCAs (and OFPCA) are only postage-paid when placed in U.S. Mail (including APO).  If you are mailing the form using the APO, you may use the postage-paid printable envelope design available on the website: www.fvap.gov/pubs/returnenvelope.html.  U.S. law permits military and Consular Voting Assistance Officers at military bases or U.S. embassies and consulates to accept and mail FPCAs (and OFPCAS) through the APO on behalf of private Americans overseas.

NOTE: If you are not able to use U.S. mail and do not want to submit the FPCA/OFPCA through a Voting Assistance Officer at a military installation or the U.S. Embassy, affix proper postage and mail it to the Local Election Official via international mail. Contact information for your Local Election Official is found on the FVAP website in Chapter 3 of the Voting Assistance Guide.

3. VOTING 

Voting for U.S. elections must be done by absentee ballot. There are no provisions for in-person voting at U.S. embassies or consulates. Ballots will be mailed directly to the voters at the address they provide on their FPCAs or OFPCAs. Voters should write their normal mailing address on the cards, so that ballots will be sent to their address. Voters must have a mailing address to receive their ballots. Voters normally not permitted access to the U.S. Embassy's APO address are NOT permitted to use that address to receive their ballots. 

Overseas voters may be eligible to use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to vote for federal offices (President/Vice President, Senator, and Representative to Congress).  The FWAB may be used only for general elections and is only permitted under special conditions:

  • IF the person is located outside the United States (including APO/FPO addresses);
  • IF the person has applied for a regular ballot early enough so the request is received by the appropriate local election official not later than the State deadline; or the date that is 30 days before the general election; AND,
  • IF the person has not received the requested regular absentee ballot from the state.

The FWAB is available on line at the FVAP website at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefwab.html.  Some states now allow military and overseas citizens to use the FWAB in elections other than general elections or for offices other than Federal offices. Again, for specific state or territorial requirements, the absent uniformed services member or citizen should consult Chapter 3 of the Voting Assistance Guide, which is available on line at, http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html.

Please be aware that some states may have notarization, witness, and return-mail requirements for the ballots.  These requirements may differ from the state's requirements for the FPCA. Voters should be sure to read the ballots carefully and to check the Voting Assistance Guide if they have questions.  Most states include return envelopes with their absentee ballots.

Even more information on overseas voting can be found on the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website: http://www.fvap.gov.

###