former notices
October 8 - 14, 2006 is Absentee Voting Week
A Friendly Reminder from the Consular Section
U.S. citizens who wish to vote in the November 7, 2006 mid-term elections, and who have not yet requested an absentee ballot, are urged to do so immediately. See your state's registration and absentee ballot request deadlines at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/ocgendeadlines.html.
If you have already received your blank ballot from local election officials in the U.S., vote and submit it without delay to ensure that your vote will be counted.
Pay careful attention to your state’s ballot receipt deadlines, and comply with any post-marking, witnessing or notarization requirements. See http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag/vagchapter3.html. We will place a date stamp and consular seal on all ballot envelopes presented to the Consular Section, and will witness or notarize your ballot free of charge. For your convenience, a U.S. postage-paid envelope template is available on-line (see below).
Some states allow faxing or e-mailing of ballots; others require that the ballots be mailed. See your state’s rules for use of fax or e-mail at http://www.fvap.gov/ivas/fvap_state_menu.html.
Overseas voters who are required to mail in their voted ballots should plan to allow up to three weeks for delivery via U.S. diplomatic pouch or international mail.
Voters who fail to receive a ballot from their local election officials may be eligible to use a federal emergency write-in ballot. The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB, is available on-line from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/forms.html, as is a postage-paid envelope template for use in sending the voted ballot or FWAB back to election officials through U.S. postal channels (APO/FPO/DPO/Pouch).
Let us know if you need any assistance with absentee voting. The Consular Section