Register/Request your ballot at VoteFromAbroad.org
For personal assistance in our chapter, please contact us at [email protected], email at [email protected], or visit us at our Vote From Abroad Center (check https://www.democratsabroad.org/mx-costa_banderas_events Events or https://www.facebook.com/DACostaBanderas/events on Facebook for dates and locations)
FOR ALL BALLOT RETURNS
• Make sure you use the same signature and identification that you used on your Federal Post Card Application requesting your ballot.
• Do not include the ID/Signature page in the security envelope with the ballot. Do not sign your ballot.
• Make sure all documents requiring signatures are signed even if it does not appear relevant (a signature required across a mail-in envelope may still be required for the alternative fax/email return- sign it without folding the sheet into an envelope for the scan to fax/email).
If you did not receive your ballot as an Overseas voter by September 21, please contact us for assistance or contact your local election official in the US.
ELECTRONIC RETURN: If you have the option of online or email/fax return for your ballot, please do that.
• ONLINE/EMAIL/FAX: Follow instructions emailed to you to access your ballot and return it. Be careful that some ballot and identification page access is time limited, have single use only access codes, and/or require multi-factor authentication. Make sure all documents requiring your signature are signed!
• FAX: If you don’t have access to a fax machine, you can email your ballot using a service like faxzero.com, and they will convert it to a fax. There also are apps for your smartphone, such as Scanner Pro. Please see their websites for more information or contact us. You will likely need to sign the fax transmission sheet affirming that your ballot is no longer secret. If a fax cover is not sent with your instructions, you can use the one from the FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program) https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/leocoversheet.pdf.
MAIL RETURN: If you are returning your ballot to a state that requires that you use mail, we suggest the following options:
• You can send your ballot through the diplomatic pouch. We recommend that you send your ballot via DHL to the US embassy in Mexico City no later than September 25. This is significantly more economical with prices around the equivalent of $10-$14 USD per DHL letter bag from the area for two day delivery.
(U.S. Embassy Mexico City,
American Citizen Services,
Room 101 Voting Assistance Officer
Presa Angostura 225,
Col. Irrigación,
Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo
Ciudad de México, Mexico, C.P. 11500).
Please review the full instructions at: https://mx.usembassy.gov/voting/
The U.S. Consulate Agency in Nuevo Vallarta (Paseo de los Cocoteros #85 Sur, Paradise Plaza, Local L-7, 63732 Nuevo Nayarit/Vallarta Nayarit) has affirmed that it will accept U.S. ballots to be sent by diplomatic pouch to then be mailed in the U.S. You can drop them off without an appointment at the office location 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM M-Th. The last day is September 24! Again, follow the full instructions that come with the ballot. The envelope needs to be sealed and ready to mail with postage or the correct indica printed on the envelope, the ballot inside the security envelope, the signed identification page (not in the security envelope), and also including any additional pages and signatures required by the instructions.
• If you have at least 10 days, iShop and Mail services (in the parking garage escalators at Plaza Península, Av. Francisco Medina Ascencio 2485-Loc. A8, 48333 Puerto Vallarta, Jal. and Las Palmas, Los Amores, 63732 Bucerías, Nay.) is a reliable economical alternative for usually around the equivalent of $3-$4 USD. Other iShop services include printing, scanning, and faxing.
• For 3-10 days lead time, you can use DHL, FedEx, Estafeta or other express couriers to send your ballot directly to your local election office. Note that you need an address that is other than PO Box. If you no longer have the contact information for your local election official, you can go to votefromabroad.org. The contact information is at “Your State Rules” (scroll down to “Find Your Election Office”). Do not send “signature required,” most election offices will not sign. You should ask for a postmark. The costs can range from the equivalent of $40 USD to over $80 USD.
• If you are traveling to the US, you can put your ballot in a mailbox there. Be careful about giving your ballot to another individual to return it for you; in many states, there are laws about who can carry another person’s ballot. Contact your election office before dropping the the mail-in ballot in a local ballot drop box.
IN PERSON VOTING: If you choose to vote in person after requesting your ballot as an Overseas voter and prior to returning it, please call or at least email your local election official of your change in plans. Usually, they will want to affirm that you have not yet voted in that election and will advise you to destroy/delete your emailed ballot. You may be asked to print it and bring it with you and/or sign a statement that you have not mailed/will not mail your ballot. Of course, do not vote in person if you have already sent your ballot.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions at the email addresses above.