for Vacancies in the U.S. House

Maryland's 7th | Wisconsin's 7th | California's 25th | see Ballotpedia.org for US House Special Elections 2020 ➚

Make a NEW ballot request for 2020 — send your form as early as JAN 2, 2020.

1. Go to www.votefromabroad.org to complete* the Ballot Request form (FPCA).
   We recommend that you choose to receive your ballot by EMAIL or ONLINE to get it fastest.
2. Follow the instructions to attach your signature online, or print out the completed form to sign it.
3. Send the signed FPCA to your election official.
   To request an absentee ballot, registered voters can EMAIL, FAX or MAIL the FPCA.
   To register to vote:
     •  Maryland and Wisconsin voters must MAIL the form.
     •  California voters can MAIL or FAX the form or register online.

• After you send in your form, be sure to email or call your Local Election Official to verify they received it and will be sending a ballot to you. You can find contact information for your election official using the State Voting Guide on VoteFromAbroad.org or on the instructions printed with your completed form.
• If you use the FPCA to request a ballot, only one form submission is needed to cover all 2020 elections, including the November 3 general election.
• You can expect to receive your ballot 45 days before the election. Send your FPCA as early as January 2, 2020 to get all your ballots as soon as they are available. Mark your calendar: the November ballot will be sent to you by September 19.

If you have any questions while filling out the form on VoteFromAbroad.org, click the orange chat box button on the lower right corner of the screen to send a question to the Voter Help Desk or email gotv@democratsabroad.org.

Good news! Following an agreement by the member states at the Extraordinary Congress on 25 September 2019, the Trump Administration will allow the US to continue to participate in the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Please click on this link to see the Democrats Abroad Statement on the US remaining in UPU

While this is excellent news for the current elections, there is reason to be wary! The agreement allows the US (and other countries) to set their own postal rates starting 1 July 2020. If the US enacts higher rates, it could have a significant impact on mailing to and from the US.

To make sure you can successfully cast your ballot, please:

1. When you fill out your ballot request form on votefromabroad.org, be sure to indicate you choose to receive your ballot by "Email or online". (We highly recommend you do not choose "Mail"--don't risk your ballot being lost or delayed in the mail!)
   
   
2. Once you received your ballot, we recommend returning your ballot by email or fax if your state allows it.
   
   
3. If your state does not allow ballot return using email or fax, please vote and mail back your ballot as soon as possible.
   
   
4. Other options if you must mail back your ballot and postal mail isn't reliable or available in your country include (1) accessing the US Embassy/Consulate's diplomatic mail pouch (free but slow) and (2) private courier services (expensive but quick).
   It may also be possible to mail your ballot from within the US, but check with your Local Election Official first!

The US administration has tentative plans to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) treaty mid-October 2019. Should that withdrawal happen, postal mail from abroad back to the US may experience delays and price increases. To make sure you can successfully cast your ballot in your state's elections this year we recommend the following steps:

1. Prepare and send in your ballot request form now to your local election office via votefromabroad.org.
   • When you fill in your request form, make sure you indicate you choose to receive your ballot by "Email or online".
   • Do not choose "Mail".
   
   Ballots for November 5 elections should be available on or around September 21.
   
   
2. If you have not received your ballot by September 22 reach out to your local election office to find out its status. Find election office contact information at https://www.votefromabroad.org/states.
   
   
3. Once you received your ballot, we recommend returning your ballot by email or fax if your state allows it.
   
   For those states that do not allow ballot return using email or fax, please vote and mail back your ballot immediately to avoid any disruption in mail service after October 17: 
   • Kentucky, New Jersey, or Virginia voters: vote immediately and postal mail the ballot back to your local election office this September.
     ➜ share with Kentucky voters  |  New Jersey voters  |  Virginia voters on Facebook
     
     
   • Mississippi voters should use email or fax to return your voted ballot.
     ➜ share with Mississippi voters on Facebook
     
     
   • Louisiana voters: contact your election office for permission to use fax to return your ballot.
     ➜ share with Louisiana voters on Facebook
     
     
   • If you email your ballot, ask for confirmation that your ballot has been received.

Is your vote dependent on the postal service?

Does your state accept elections materials using alternatives to postal mail, such as email, online upload, or fax? Or is postal mail mandated?

I.  States restricting transmission to postal mail for

II.  States offering electronic options (email, online access, fax) to

a.   Deliver Blank Ballot to Voter

Every state will send absentee ballot electronically to voters abroad if preference to receive voting materials by "Email or online" or "Fax" is indicated on Ballot Request form (FPCA).

b.   Return Voted Ballot 🗳

1. Alabama – return using online upload of ballot if choosing to received voting materials by "Email or online."
2. Alaska – return by fax if choosing to received voting materials by "Email or online" or "Fax."
3. Arizona
4. California – return by fax
5. Colorado – vote online at ballotreturn.sos.colorado.gov
6. Delaware
7. District of Columbia
8. Florida – return by fax
9. Hawaii
10. Indiana
11. Louisiana – return by fax with prior arrangement by LEO
12. Kansas
13. Maine
14. Massachusetts
15. Mississippi
16. Montana – vote online at www.vote4montana.us
17. Nebraska – return by email or fax with prior arrangement by LEO
18. Nevada
19. New Jersey – return by email or fax, but must mail marked ballot too
20. New Mexico
21. North Carolina
22. North Dakota
23. Oklahoma – return by fax
24. Oregon
25. Rhode Island – check with your election official to return by email or fax
26. South Carolina
27. Utah
28. Washington
29. West Virginia

Five states — Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia — will hold General Elections in November 2019 for state executive offices, state legislative offices or both.

Advice for voters on US plans to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union (UPU)

Download 2019 State Gubernatorial and Legislative Elections list (Google Doc)

What is on the Ballot in 2019?

• Kentucky — includes Governor, Lt. Gov, Attorney General and Secretary of State
  *All overseas voters, except those who have "never resided in the U.S.", may vote in KY state elections
  ➜ share on Facebook
  
  
• Louisiana — includes Governor, Lt. Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Senate and State House
  *All overseas voters, except those who have "never resided in the U.S.", may vote in LA state elections
  ➜ share on Facebook
  
  
• The race for Governor (Democratic John Bel Edwards seeks re-election) and Secretary of State (Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup) advance to General Election on Nov 16.
• Mississippi — includes Governor, Lt. Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Senate and State House
• *All overseas voters, except those who have "never resided in the U.S.", may vote in MS state elections
  ➜ share on Facebook
  
  
• New Jersey — General Assembly
• *Overseas voters who indicate they "intend to return" may vote in NJ state elections
  ➜ share on Facebook
  
  
• Virginia — includes State Senate and State House
  *Overseas voters who indicate they "intend to return" may vote in VA state elections.
  In addition, VA overseas voters who indicate their "return is uncertain" may vote in VA state elections if they provide the name of an overseas employer for either the voter or the voter's spouse or the voter's parent (if the voter is a dependent)
  ➜ share on Facebook

Drafts of the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) forms are available for review and comment on the Federal Register until January 22 at regulations.gov.

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act -- also know as UOCAVA, the federal law that defines overseas voting -- requires that the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) review and accept public comment every three years on the two federal forms: the FPCA used to register to vote, request an absentee ballot and update contact information, and the FWAB  backup ballot if the voter doesn’t receive a requested ballot in time.

View and comment on the draft FPCA form: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=DOD-2018-OS-0092

View and comment on the draft FWAB form: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=DOD-2018-OS-0091

Georgia will hold a State Runoff Election on Tuesday, December 4 to elect the next state Secretary of State. Georgia holds runoffs when no candidate receives a majority of the vote in an election. We all saw Republican Secretary of State Kemp carry out his outrageous tactics of voter suppression while serving his term as Georgia's chief election official, undermining democracy to narrowly eke out a win to be the next Governor over Stacey Adams. Vote for Democrat John Barrow     in the Runoff and ensure Georgia's future elections are fair and every vote is counted!

Overseas voters can vote in the Runoff Election if you registered as "intend to return" and also requested a ballot for the General Election. You should have received a Statewide State Office Write-In Ballot (SWAB) with the absentee ballot for the General Election, or download the SWAB. Official ballots will be mailed to voters, but time is tight to mail your ballot back before the deadline, so vote now using the SWAB!

Georgia Runoff for Georgia Secretary of State: Tuesday, December 4

• Ballot Return: by mail only, postmarked by Tue, Dec 4 and received by Fri, Dec 7 to be counted

Please share this information on to any Georgia voters you know. Voters flipped #GA06 by electing Lucy McBath, and we can flip this office too. Democrats win when Democrats vote!

Send any questions to gotv@democratsabroad.org. And complete our 2018 Voter Survey about voting in the 2018 midterms to help make it easier to #votefromabroad.

SWAB Instructions for Georgia Overseas Voters

from http://sos.ga.gov/index.php/elections/ballot_selection

1. Write in the candidate's first and last name. 
2. To ensure secrecy, place your folded ballot into a plain envelope and seal.
3. Print and complete the required oath (PDF) statement. Place the completed oath and the sealed envelope into another outer envelope and seal. Write the words “Official Absentee Ballot” on the outer envelope. Failure to sign and return the oath will cause your SWAB to be rejected.
4. Return the SWAB by mail to your local county registrar. The SWAB will not be accepted if it is returned by fax or email. All ballots postmarked by the runoff date will be counted if received by the county office within three days of the runoff election.

Mississippi will hold a Runoff Election on Tuesday, November 27 for U.S. Senate. Mississippi holds runoffs when no candidate receives a majority of the vote in a special election. This is a tight race. Democrat Mike Espy      and the current Republican Senator tied in the General Election. Now is our chance to flip this seat.

All registered Mississippi voters can vote in this special federal election. If you voted in the General Election, please be sure to return the Ranked Choice ballot that came with you official absentee ballot. If you have it, go ahead and return it now. If you need a new one, contact your election official for a new one. More information on VoteFromAbroad.org.

If you didn't vote in the midterms, send in your form to request a ballot now. It's really easy, you can both send the request and receive your ballot by email. The deadline is November 27, 7pm CST.

Mississippi Special Runoff for U.S. Senate: Tuesday, November 27

• Voter Registration: Oct 29 (passed)
• Ballot Request: No deadline
• Ballot Return: received by Tue, Nov 27, 7pm CST (email, fax, or mail)

☛ Request a ballot: Complete the form at VoteFromAbroad.org.

Please share this information on to any Mississippi voters you know. Democrats win when Democrats vote!

Send any questions to gotv@democratsabroad.org. And complete our 2018 Voter Survey about voting in the 2018 midterms to help make it easier to #votefromabroad.

Runoff Instructions for Mississippi Overseas Voters

from http://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Pages/Military-Overseas-Voter.aspx

• Simultaneous with the transmittal of your absentee ballot for the General Election, you have also been provided with a ranked-choice absentee ballot to be used in the instance of a Runoff Election.
• The ranked choice ballot allows you to rank all potential runoff election candidates in the order of your preference.
• If you rank two or more candidates the same, your vote in that particular race will not be counted.
• You are not required to indicate your preference for more than one candidate.
• No additional ballot will be sent to you for a Runoff Election.
• It is your choice when you vote and return your voted Runoff Election absentee ballot; however, absentee ballots returned electronically must be received by the Circuit Clerk's Office of the voter's county of residence by 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election in order to be counted. Absentee ballots must be received on or before the deadline.

For the Runoff Election, your ballot must be received by the Circuit Clerk's Office no later than Runoff Election Day, November 27, at 7:00pm CST.

• Absentee ballots requested on Election Day may only be received by the voter and returned to the Circuit Clerk's Office by e-mail.
• Note: Only the first received absentee ballot may be counted per election per voter. Subsequent absentee ballots received from the same voter for the same election will be rejected.

We need you to take action NOW to make sure that your vote is counted.

Your vote is important to Ohio! All of Ohio's major races are either tied or within the margin of error. We need your vote to reelect Sherrod Brown     to the US Senate, put Rich Cordray      and Betty Sutton      in the governor's office, sweep the statewide races and turn Ohio blue.

Even if you voted from abroad in the past, if you haven't yet requested your ballot this year, you still need to do so to make sure you can vote. Just go to votefromabroad.org, fill in the Federal request form, print, sign and send it in to your local election office here in Ohio.

If you have any questions about voting please email DA's Voter Help Desk at gotv@democratsabroad.org.

On behalf of the Ohio Democratic Party      I thank you for your commitment to voting!

Democratically yours,
David Pepper, Chair
Ohio Democratic Party

There's still time to get a ballot, but the deadline is coming up. Don't wait:

REQUEST your overseas absentee ballot before Saturday, November 3, 12 noon EST. You may send your request form by email, fax or mail. We recommend sending your request form by email or fax and having your ballot delivered to you by email.

RETURN your ballot by Monday, November 5. Your ballot must be mailed by the day before Election Day and received by Friday, November 16.

If you don't have a ballot yet and are concerned about the time it will take to mail it to Ohio, VOTE now using the FWAB. The Federal backup ballot can be used to vote for all elections and ballot measures. The FWAB must be mailed by November 5 and received by November 16 to be counted. You still need to submit the Federal request form by November 3.

All overseas voters may vote in Ohio state and local elections as well as elections for federal offices (US House and US Senate races).

Note: When you fill in your ballot request form, be aware that selecting "I intend to return" rather than "my return is uncertain" may contribute towards establishing yourself as a tax resident in your voting state. Because the legal requirements to establish "residence" or "domicile" for tax purposes are determined by state law and the specific facts of your life, before you note that you intend to return on your form you may consider seeking advice on these matters from your tax professional.