FULL STATE/LOCAL BALLOT OR FEDERAL BALLOT? (Intent to return)

You must request your ballot every election year, which you can do at votefromabroad.org. In Florida, each county Supervisor of Elections office determines which ballot you receive depending on how you answer the question about whether you plan to return to Florida.

If you choose "intend to return, ": You are eligible to vote in federal, state, and local elections.

(You don't have to have a set return date, and it doesn't have to be within a set time frame, but you do need to have the intention to return at some time in the future.)

If you report that your “return is uncertain” in Florida: You may or may not be eligible to vote in state and local elections, but you can still vote for your US House Representative and US Senator.

NOTE: Many counties reported that they WOULD send a full ballot to "return uncertain" voters. Unfortunately, two of the biggest -- Miami/Dade & Palm Beach -- said they would only send a federal ballot.

MIAMI/DADE NOTE: The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections limits who can get a full ballot for "overseas residents who are not registered Miami-Dade voters." It goes on to say if you or a family member has a home in Miami-Dade county and your FPCA/ballot request application is received no later than 29 days before the election, you will "...become an actual Miami-Dade County voter." However, "If your last address was in Miami-Dade County and you do not currently have a home in Miami-Dade County, you are eligible to receive an Overseas Citizen's Ballot for Federal Elections..." Source: Miami-Dade County/Elections/Vote by Mail/Overseas and Military Voters.

Florida doesn't have an income tax, so there's no tax downside to choosing "intend to return."

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