US Voting

2020 is here – register (and start club campaigns) now

Many people say that the USA’s 2020 election is the most important in a generation. Overseas Americans have both the duty to take part and the opportunity to make their voices heard more clearly than ever before. FAWCO members, FAWCO clubs and FAWCO itself can do much towards achieving this goal, and thus helping to shape the future of the US for years to come.

However much you can do, start by following the advice about oxygen masks in airline safety demonstrations: get yourself registered to vote before helping others to do so.

Act now. This enables you:

1. to vote in primary elections (if you want to);
2. to settle any problem that may arise with your registration (almost all such problems can be solved if there is enough time); and
3. to help the maximum number of other Americans to register and vote also.

The text below lists options for action by FAWCO members and clubs, as well as FAWCO’s activities. Send questions or ideas to the FAWCO US Voting Committee ().

What you can do

As an individual

1. Register to vote/request a ballot for the 2020 election with the US Vote Foundation. Send the registration form/ballot request to your local election official (LEO) according to the instructions that accompany it. Check your status with your LEO a few weeks after you register.
2. Receive, complete and return your ballot. States are required to send out ballots 45 days before a regular election for federal office, and states generally send out ballots at least 30 days before primary elections.
3. If your ballot for the general election does not arrive by 3 October 2020 (one month before Election Day, 3 November), return to the US Vote Foundation, and use the link on the registration page to fill out a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). Send the FWAB to your LEO. If your regular ballot arrives after you have done this, vote and send it, too, and let the LEO official decide which one to count.
4. Use every network and connection you have – your family, your FAWCO club, social media accounts, church, school, business, etc. etc. – to urge other Americans to register and vote.

Outreach can be as simple as including registration info and link in the signature to your emails, or listening for American accents in the grocery store and giving out pocket-sized handouts with voting information, as well as mounting a campaign with your club or other nonpartisan groups.

As a club

Urge and help members and other Americans to register and vote in 2020 by:

1. joining the FAWCO US Voting Committee (), and using the regular information bulletins and articles it provides on the FAWCO website, issued monthly throughout the year, in your club communications; 
2. publishing registration and voting info in your club newsletter, website and/or social media accounts, with a link to the US Vote Foundation;
3. holding club events to register voters and, later, to assist with returning ballots (it helps to remind voters to bring all relevant information, including on identity and US voting address), and/or having a member with a laptop at all club events, to supply information and help voters register;
4. mounting a campaign to register voters in the local community, either as a club or working with nonpartisan partners.

Campaign partners can include the local US consulate or embassy (who are often glad to have volunteers to help), other expat groups, and churches, schools or businesses. Remember that FAWCO is nonpartisan, so do not hold events under the banner of any partisan organization. Note also that consulates/embassies are required to work through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) – but the FVAP website and materials are quite user friendly.

A voter registration campaign is not only good in itself but can also raise your club’s visibility in the community and improve its links with the consulate/embassy and other partners.

What FAWCO does

FAWCO’s US Voting Committee operates under the US Liaison, and encourages and assists US overseas citizens to participate in every federal election for which they are eligible by providing a dedicated website and information and training to volunteers in FAWCO member clubs, and helping with publicity. The Committee also works to reduce the barriers to voting from overseas imposed by federal and state legislation, through such means as Overseas Americans Week and work with partners such as the US Vote Foundation and FVAP. It publishes regular articles on the FAWCO website, and summarizes and links to them in News in Brief and the US Liaison Bulletin.

In 2020, FAWCO will continue to provide information and advice through the usual channels, but also promote overseas voting:

• through messages from the Social Media team (which started in 2019);
• in an online hangout with FAWCO reps in January;
• at the Interim Meeting in March (yet another reason to attend!); and
• through regional meetings and club events.

To help FAWCO in this work and get better information for your club or community, contact the Chair of the US Voting Committee () to ask questions or join the Committee.

Why vote from overseas?

Overseas Americans often complain that US law ignores or unintentionally harms us. While voter turnout in the US is much worse than that in many developed countries (around 65% seems to be cause for celebration), however, turnout for overseas Americans voters is only 4% – if we do not bother to speak, why should lawmakers listen to our concerns? 

Our country needs to hear our voices – not just in the choice of President and Vice-President, and senators and representatives in Congress, but in state and local offices (in states that permit us to vote on them). Living as we do, in daily contact with the world outside the US and functioning as informal ambassadors for our country, we have unique insights to offer. And now that many political races are decided by small margins, we have a better chance to be heard than ever before. Seize this chance: vote in every year in which elections are held, and help other overseas Americans to do so. 

FAWCO's US Voting Committee encourages and assists US overseas citizens to participate in every federal election for which they are eligible by providing a dedicated website and information and training to volunteers in FAWCO member clubs, and helping with publicity. The Committee also works to reduce the barriers to voting from overseas imposed by federal and state legislation.

To get involved or to ask questions, contact the US Voting Committee Chair at .

Register to vote

To register to vote, visit the US Vote Foundation.