Voter Information

Where Are You Going to be for This Year’s Election?

June 11, 2006

Local election officials in the USA need to know the citizens’ current address in order to send the absentee ballot. Although it is the citizens’ responsibility to notify their local election official of changes in their mailing address (where the citizen needs their ballot mailed) it is often forgotten. Because many Americans overseas are highly mobile, FVAP recommends that the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) be completed in its entirety and submitted every year in January and whenever you move or are transferred.

Send a change of address notification by submitting an FPCA. When completing the FPCA indicate your “NEW ADDRESS” and your “OLD ADDRESS”. Completion instructions for each state can be found in Chapter 3 of the 2006-07 Voting Assistance Guide. State-by State Instructions are also available online at www.fvap.gov.

In addition to informing the local election official of the citizen’s current mailing address, submitting the FPCA will register or confirm the citizen’s registration, and acts as a request for absentee ballots for any elections to be held that year.

A second option to indicate a change in address is writing a letter to your local election official with your name, date of birth, and both new and old addresses.  The new address is where you would like to receive your ballot. 

When using any of the options provided, it is important to include a voter registration number or Social Security Number and any further information that can help the local election official properly identify you.

Submit an address change early enough so that you have enough time to receive, vote your ballot, and return it to the local election official to meet state deadlines.

If you return to your state of legal voting residence, be sure to notify your local election official that you plan on voting at the polls in the next election.

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