This is a Presidential election year — all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 34 of the 100 Senate seats, and 13 gubernatorial seats are up for grabs in November. U.S. citizens have the right to vote in primary and general elections, no matter where in the world they live! If you're a U.S. citizen, dual-national, and will be 18 on November 5, 2024, you have the right to vote from abroad in US elections — including in the November 2024 elections!
As a U.S. citizen, you can register to vote from abroad while living, working, or traveling overseas by submitting one form — the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). It doesn't matter if you were registered to vote before you left the U.S., how long you’ve lived outside the U.S., or if you've never resided in the U.S. at all. You have the right to vote!
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Amerikanska medborgare (inklusive de med dubbelt medborgarskap) har rösträtt i allmänna val oavsett var i världen man bor. Om du är 18 år har du rätt att rösta i det kommande valet. Om du behöver stöd på svenska kan du vänligen kontakta oss på [email protected]. |
The U.S. State Department recommends, “all U.S. citizens living abroad complete and submit a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) annually, to ensure you remain on your state’s voter rolls and to ensure your local election office has your up-to-date contact information.” Vote From Abroad provides all the information, forms, and support help in one place to make voting easy!
📌 Please note that there is NO 📌
IN-PERSON VOTING in Sweden for U.S. General elections!
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KEY POINTS FOR VOTING
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What's covered on this page:
1. Registering to vote and requesting your ballot
2. Confirming your request has been accepted
4. Oct 1 and the ballot hasn’t arrived?
7. Checking twice to prevent mistakes
8. Confirming your ballot's arrival
9. What to do if you encounter difficulties
10. Getting your "I Voted from Sweden" Stickers
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1. Registering to vote and requesting your ballot
The first step is to request your ballot, and if need be, register to vote from abroad. You should do this every election year to ensure you remain on your state’s overseas voter rolls and to ensure your local election office has your up-to-date contact information. It’s important to register as an absentee voter from abroad because the ballots of US citizens voting from abroad have special protections and are different from the standard absentee ballot.
Go to www.VoteFromAbroad.org to fill out your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) absentee ballot request — it takes 5-10 minutes! If you're not registered to vote, the FPCA also serves as a voter registration form. Choose the option to receive ballots by email.
The second step is to submit the FPCA absentee ballot request form to your local election office in the United States. Most states allow you to submit your FPCA directly from www.VoteFromAbroad.org without the need to print it out. But some states require that you submit your completed form by email attachment, fax, or postal mail. State deadlines and submission methods can be found here.
If you have any questions while filling out your request form, go to the Vote from Abroad FAQ Section or type your question in the website's chat box (red circle in the bottom right-hand corner of each screen). Or you can email us at [email protected]
2. Confirming your request has been accepted ✅
After submitting your FPCA absentee ballot request form, call or email your Local Election Official (LEO) to confirm they have received it and will be sending your ballot. Your LEO's contact information is listed in the instructions generated when you fill out your FPCA form at Vote from Abroad. You can also look up their contact info here.
Most states provide a website where you can verify your voter status. To find your state's website, click here and scroll down to “Where Is My Ballot?"
3. Receiving your ballot 📬
Your overseas absentee ballot is not your standard absentee ballot back home! Thanks to the MOVE Act, all states must send FPCA-requested absentee ballots to overseas voters no later than 45 days before a federal election — this year that’s September 21, 2024.
And, if requested, all states must send overseas voters their ballot by email.
You don't need to wait for ballots to arrive on September 21. If you're worried your ballot won't arrive in time for you to return it by the deadline, send in a Backup Ballot NOW. The Backup Ballot (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot or FWAB) is specifically for overseas voters who are concerned they won't receive their official ballot in time to return it by the deadline. All details about the Backup Ballot can be found here.
4. Your ballot hasn’t arrived? 📭
Check your spam folder. Still no ballot? Contact your local election official here and confirm they’ve sent your ballot to you. Go to www.VoteFromAbroad.org if you need to send in a new FPCA absentee ballot request form.
If you haven’t received your ballot by October 1 and your state requires postal mail return, we recommend you send in a Backup Ballot to make sure your vote gets to your state in time. All details about the Backup Ballot can be found here.
5. Voting your ballot 🗳️
It’s easy to get informed about candidates, ballot initiatives, and judicial candidates and important to vote your ballot completely. State and local races are critical!
The simplest way is to vote for Democrats straight down the ballot. Some elected positions do not list a party affiliation, like school boards, judges, and others. To determine who to vote for in those cases, you can do the following:
- Google your county's local Democratic Party
- Go to the League of Women Voters personalized ballot service
- Go to Ballotpedia - Choose your state
- Google the candidate's name to find their campaign website
6. There are lots of ways to return your ballot!
📌 Remember! Only use a mail service if
you cannot return your ballot electronically
Ballot return methods – by email, online, postal mail, fax – vary by state. Always return your ballot as quickly as possible, but especially if your state only allows postal mail return. Always read the instructions that came with your ballot carefully! Find your state's ballot return methods here.
If your state allows email, online upload or fax for ballot return, please use these options as they’re not subject to loss or delay! Here is more information on fax submission.
If your state requires postal mail return, see info below on options from Sweden.
- New Jersey Voters: Please note that New Jersey allows for email or fax returns, but requires that the ballot ALSO be sent by postal mail.
- New York Voters: Here are instructions on How to fold the New York State General Election ballot.
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Need help scanning your ballot? Watch this video on how to scan using your smartphone. If you don't have a scanning app on your phone, |
🠊 International Postal Service:
If your state requires postal mail ballot return, one option is to take your ballot to a post office and use international mail from PostNord. If you mail your ballot “rekommenderat,” you can trace its path from the time it’s sent until it’s received. Please remember mail service can be slow and send your ballot as soon as possible!
You should – and some states require you – to ask for a postmark or date stamp to be placed on the outer envelope. Always follow the instructions that came with your ballot carefully!
🠊 The U.S. Embassy/Consulate diplomatic pouch: The U.S. Embassy in Sweden requests that ballots sent by the diplomatic post be dropped off no later than four weeks before the ballot due date. You will need to place your ballot in a U.S. postage paid return envelope (usually provided with your ballot) or in an envelope bearing sufficient U.S. postage. You can download a free U.S. postage-paid return envelope template at FVAP.gov.
Please be aware that using the diplomatic pouch is very slow. It can take weeks for your ballot to reach its final destination. Use a Back-up Ballot to make the diplomatic pouch deadline if your regular ballot hasn’t arrived. Find out more here.
Returning your ballot via diplomatic pouch:
Voters in Sweden can drop their ballots at their closest U.S. Embassy. More information is on the website.
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Stockholm
Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31
115 89 Stockholm Sweden
Monday-Friday (except U.S. and Swedish holidays) 08:00-16:30
Those wishing to drop off ballots will have to wait in the line outside and have the ballots screened by security
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Copenhagen (may be closer for you if you’re in Skåne)
Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24
2100 København, Denmark
Monday-Friday (except U.S. and Danish holidays) 08:30-16:00.
Ballots are forwarded to the U.S. on a weekly basis. Expect it to take 2-4 weeks to reach your election office.
You can either mail the sealed envelope containing your ballot to the Embassy or deliver it on any business day (hours above). If you choose to mail the sealed envelope to the Embassy, remember to use Danish, Greenlandic, or Faroese postage.
U.S. Embassy Copenhagen
ATTN: Voting Assistance Officer
Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24
2100 Copenhagen
🠊 Courier Service:
If your state requires postal mail ballot return, the quickest option is to use a courier service like DHL, Federal Express, etc.
Even with expedited courier services though, ballots still take several days to get to the United States. Please send your ballot as soon as possible! Do not wait! You should – and some states require you – ask for a postmark or date stamp to be placed on the outer envelope. Follow the instructions that came with your ballot. We do not recommend booking or paying online with any courier service. You will not receive a postmark if you book or pay online.
Courier services cannot send to a P.O. Box! Be sure to confirm a street address with your local election official if a P.O. Box is the return address on your ballot.
7. Checking twice to prevent mistakes
When filling out and packaging your ballot, don't forget to review the instructions carefully. Don't let human error spoil your ballot!
Regardless of how you send in your ballot, remember that you – the voter – must be the one who places it “in the mail.” In some states, it is unlawful for any other person to handle your voted ballot, even if it is sealed. Need help? Contact us at: [email protected].
8. Confirming your ballot's arrival at your local election office in the United States ✓✓
Once you've sent your ballot, follow up with your local election official to make sure that it arrived and will be counted. Please do not just assume that your ballot has made it!
Nearly all states have online tracking services. The easiest way to ensure your ballot has arrived is to go to "Track Your Ballot" on your state’s website. You can also look up your local election office's contact details here and contact them directly. They may be experiencing a high volume of calls, so you may need to be persistent to get through to someone.
9. Having trouble? Need help? 😕
We understand that the voting process to some states can be confusing — that's why we're here to help! Send us an email at [email protected] or contact [email protected]
10. Get your "I Voted from Sweden" sticker
Thank you for voting! Tell your friends on social media that you voted with an "I Voted from Sweden" sticker free of charge. Request yours here today: Download a digital sticker.