Note (September 15): Good news! The Associated Press reports: “The Supreme Court on [September 14] rejected [a] bid to restrict mail ballots for the midterm elections, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting already underway.”
States will send out ballots on September 19, 2026. Check your voting plan and revise it if necessary. The US Voting Committee () will do its best to inform you of developments that affect overseas voters.
Your voting plan should have three steps.
- Make sure you remain registered to vote. Check your status.
- Receive and complete your ballot, carefully and correctly following all of your state’s rules. If your ballot has not reached you by September 26, vote and return a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB).
- Return your completed, signed ballot as fast as possible and ensure that it will arrive before your state’s deadline. This probably means avoiding the US Postal Service (and therefore the diplomatic pouch), and returning your ballot electronically, by fax or by carrier service, depending on your state’s requirements.
Depending on court decisions and the reactions of the federal and state governments, you may need to change your plan in order to vote successfully. The hostile climate means that you should research your options, especially for ballot return, so you will be fully prepared to cast a valid ballot in the 2026 US elections.
1. Ensure you are registered to vote
If you have not yet registered to vote, do it now. (Click here for advice on how.) Make sure you ask to receive your ballot electronically (email/online), so you don't have to wait for delivery to your mailbox and can skip the US Postal Service (USPS) on one leg of the ballot journey at least.
Once registered, check your registration status with your local election official; their contact details are listed on the PDF generated when you filled out the form, and on the websites of FAWCO partner the US Vote Foundation and the US government.
2. Receive and complete your ballot
States are required to send out ballots no later than 45 days before a regular election for federal office: September 19, 2026. Most states allow you to confirm your ballot delivery online; FVAP and the US Vote Foundation give links to many state elections sites.
As soon as it arrives, fill out your ballot right away, carefully following the instructions. Be sure that you:
- use the same signature on your ballot envelope that you used on your Federal Post Card application (FPCA) form; and
- include the date in the format requested.
Without your correct signature and the date, your ballot won’t be counted.
If your ballot does not reach you by September 26, 2026, get a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) from here, here or here, and fill it out right away, carefully following the instructions. If your regular ballot arrives after that, correctly vote and return it, too. Your local election official (LEO) will figure out which one to count.
3. Return your completed, signed ballot before your state’s deadline
To be counted, your ballot must reach your LEO before the deadline set by your state (see FVAP and the US Vote Foundation for these deadlines).
Using the USPS for ballot delivery in the USA (this includes using the diplomatic pouch) seems increasingly unreliable. Consider alternatives to USPS for ballot return. Keep an eye on the news, and consider returning your ballot by other means: online/electronically, fax or a carrier service.
If your state allows electronic return of your completed ballot, use that avenue. Find out how to do that here. You can also use fax if your state allows it, even if you do not have a fax machine. See the details on how to do this here. Note that FVAP has stopped its service of faxing overseas voters’ election materials to LEOs, and that using fax means that your ballot will not be anonymous.
You can also use a carrier service (DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.); it’s generally the quickest non-electronic option for ballot return. You must use the street address for your local election office; carriers can’t deliver to a PO Box. Don’t request a signature; most offices won’t sign for a package. And get a dated slip in case you need to show that it was submitted on or before election day.
You should—and some states require you to—ask for a postmark or date stamp to be placed on the outer envelope. Follow the instructions that come with your ballot to be sure it is correctly marked; that is crucial to its being counted.
Get help if problems arise
Report problems with registration or voting to FVAP (at ), the US Vote Foundation’s Voter Help Desk and FAWCO (at ) for help and advice. All three organizations collect information on voting experience after each election, but it’s much better to get help that enables you to vote this year, rather than in the next election.
