🇺🇸🗳📣 MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED AND READY TO VOTE FROM ABROAD!
Do it now. Protect your vote and protect our democracy by sending in your ballot request and voting in any elections that you may be eligible for in 2025. We recommend reading your ballot carefully and voting the whole ballot.
U.S. ELECTIONS IN 2025
- Texas and Tennessee are holding Special Congressional Elections this fall/winter to fill vacant House seats: TX-18 (Houston area) and TN-7 (Middle and West Tennessee). All Texas and Tennessee voters abroad who vote in these districts can vote in these federal elections.
- Virginia statewide battleground races: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and every seat in the House of Delegates.
- New Jersey statewide battleground races: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and every seat in the General Assembly.
- Pennsylvania statewide battleground races: three state Supreme Court seats.
- California statewide battleground race: Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act, seeks to negate the Texas gerrymander ordered by Trump to steal the 2026 House elections. All California voters abroad can vote in this statewide election.
- Georgia statewide battlegrounds: two Public Service Commissioner seats.
- Maine has a statewide ballot initiatives that if passed would require documentary proof from voters in order to vote. (Read more about that here. Requiring additional documentary proof does nothing to prevent statistically non-existent voter fraud — but it does make it a lot harder for eligible voters to vote.)
- Mayoral elections: Additionally, 38 major cities are electing mayors, including cities like New York City, Miami, Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle and Cincinnati.
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U.S. citizens have the right to vote in primary and general elections,
no matter where in the world they live!
As a United States citizen, whether you are living, working, or traveling overseas, you have the right to vote! 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. If you are a U.S. citizen or dual national, and will be 18 on the date of the next election, you have the right to vote from abroad.
The U.S. State Department recommends that “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.” The website Vote From Abroad provides all the information, forms, and support you'll need in one place to make voting easy!
✭ ✭ ✭ Some states allow voters to vote electronically.
Others require that ballots be mailed in.
If there is an upcoming election in your state,
be sure to verify the state's requirements in advance! ✭ ✭ ✭
Go to www.votefromabroad.org/states for specific details on all states.
KEY POINTS FOR VOTING
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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO VOTING FROM COLOMBIA
- Registering to vote and requesting your ballot
- Confirming your request has been accepted
- Receiving your ballot
- What if your ballot hasn’t arrived?
- Voting your ballot
- Returning your ballot
- Checking twice to prevent mistakes
- Confirming your ballot's arrival
- What to do if you encounter difficulties
- Download your I Voted from Colombia sticker
Registering to vote and requesting your ballot 🗽
At the beginning of every year, go to 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. The FPCA form registers you to vote, and also requests a ballot for all elections for which you are eligible that calendar year. It is also used to re-register and update any voter information changes — such as name, party affiliation, address changes, or ballot preferences. Choose the option to receive ballots by email/online to avoid delays.
It's important to register as an absentee voter from abroad every year because the ballots of U.S. citizens voting from abroad have additional federal voter protections that may not be available to domestic vote-by-mail voters, such as:
- Getting your ballot sent to you by email /online download;
- Receiving your ballot 45 days before a federal election.
- Electronic return options for your voted ballot (varies by state);
- Use of the Backup Ballot (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot or FWAB) to vote, in case of problems getting or returning their regular ballot, or concerns with postal mail.
Submit the FPCA to your local election office in the United States. Most states allow you to submit your FPCA directly from votefromabroad.org without the need to print it out, but some require that you submit your completed form by email attachment, fax, or postal mail. State deadlines and submission requirements can be found here.
If you have any questions while filling out your request form, email [email protected] or [email protected]. You may also type your question in the chatbox on the website Vote From Abroad (the red circle in the bottom right-hand corner of each screen) or visit the FAQ section on the website.
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Watch a video on how to use www.votefromabroad.org. |
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. Find your state's website here and scroll down to “Where Is My Ballot?"
Receiving your ballot 📬
Your overseas absentee ballot is not your standard absentee ballot back home! Under federal law (The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA), states must start sending ballots to overseas voters 45 days before a federal election to ensure that the ballots can be returned by election day. In 2025, that date is September 20. In years without a federal election, state and local ballots may go out later.
If for a particular election you're worried your ballot won't arrive on time, you have the option of sending in a Backup Ballot. 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.
Your ballot hasn’t arrived? 📭
Check your spam folder.
Still no ballot? Contact your local election official (find their contact info here) and confirm they’ve sent your ballot to you.
If you haven’t received your ballot a month before the election, 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.
Voting your ballot 🗳️
It’s important to (1) carefully follow the directions that come with your ballot and (2) vote in every race on your ballot. State and local races are just as critical as federal!
To research candidates, issues and ballot initiatives, you can do the following:
- Use the candidate's name to search for their campaign website.
- Check the recommendations of your state and local Democratic Party.
- Review the League of Women Voters' Vote411.org service which provides non-partisan ballot and candidate information based on your voting location.
- Check Blue Voter Guide to help you make "informed, pro-democracy, and pro-working-family choices."
- Search for upcoming elections on Ballotpedia.
- Local newspapers, unions, issue advocates, and other associations back home may also provide endorsements.
Returning your ballot 🏣
📌 Remember!
Only use a mail service if you cannot return your ballot electronically. 📌
Ballot return methods – by email, online, via postal mail, by fax – vary by state. Always return your ballot as quickly as possible, but especially if your state only allows postal mail return. Find up-to-date information on your state's ballot return methods here.
If your state allows you to email your ballot, upload it online, or fax it in, we recommend you use these options! They’re not subject to delay. Here is more information on fax submission.
If your state requires postal mail return, see info below on options from Colombia. If possible, we recommend using an express international courier service.
New Jersey Voters: Please note that New Jersey allows for email or fax ballot returns, but requires that the ballot ALSO be sent by postal mail.
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Need help scanning your ballot? Watch this video on how to scan using your smartphone or consider using a free or inexpensive email-to-fax service or app, such as FaxZero, FaxPlus, GeniusFax, HelloFax, or CocoFax. Be sure to confirm that the fax transmission has been successful. |
➡ International Express Courier Service
If your state requires postal mail ballot return, the quickest option is to use an express international courier service.
Call or email your local election office in the United States to confirm the best address to use, then check out courier options. DHL and FedEx have offices in Bogota and in some other major cities in Colombia.
Even with expedited courier services, ballots still take several days to get to the United States. Please send your ballot as soon as possible! Do not wait!
You should ask for a postmark or date stamp to be placed on the outer envelope; some states require this. Find out your state’s requirements here.
Tips!
- We do not recommend booking or paying online with any courier service, because you will not receive a postmark if you do so.
- Do not require recipient signature upon delivery as this can cause your mail to be rejected.
➡ The U.S. Embassy or Consulate Diplomatic Pouch
Historically it has been possible to return your ballot by using the diplomatic pouch mail service at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. Ask the Embassy whether they are accepting election mail for the diplomatic pouch in 2025.
Please be aware, when using this process, it can take several weeks for your ballot to reach its U.S. destination. If you do choose to use the diplomatic pouch mail service, verify the timeline with the Embassy and be prepared to drop off your envelope several weeks prior to election day.
For the diplomatic pouch mail service, you will need U.S. postage on the envelope, as it will be delivered into the U.S. mail system after transportation to the United States by the diplomatic service. You can use a U.S. postage-paid return envelope (sometimes provided with your ballot), or an envelope bearing sufficient U.S. postage. You can download a free U.S. postage-paid ballot return envelope template at FVAP.gov.
Prepared ballots, sealed in a postage-paid envelope addressed to your local election officials, can be dropped off at the drop box in the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá from Monday to Friday during normal business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.). The Embassy address is Carrera 45 No. 24B-27, Gate 2 (main vehicle gate).
Many states will allow individually sealed mailing envelopes containing ballots to be placed together in the same outer international courier envelope as long as they are going to the same election office. Some states, however, have rules prohibiting third-party ballot handling. Unsure? Find out your state’s requirements here.
CAUTION:
U.S. Embassies and Consulates are NOT polling places.
Same-day voting is not available outside the United States.
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!
Confirming your ballot's arrival at your local election office in the United States ✅
Once you've sent your ballot, follow up to make sure that the ballot arrived and will be counted. Please do not just assume that your ballot has been received!
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 officer's contact details here and contact them directly. If you don't get through immediately, be persistent!
Having trouble? Need help? 🆘
We understand that the voting process can seem complicated or confusing — that's why we're here to help! Send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected].
You can also type your question in the chatbox on the website Vote From Abroad (the red circle in the bottom right-hand corner of each screen) or visit the FAQ section on the website.
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