by Veronica Riffle (AWC Berlin), Co-Chair, US Voting Committee
States have sent out absentee ballots. You’ve done your homework: researched the candidates and issues for your local election. The next step is to mark and return your ballot in a way that ensures that it is counted. Be sure to follow all the instructions carefully.
If you have not received your ballot by September 26, get, vote and send a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) from 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.
To be counted, your ballot must reach your LEO before the deadline set by your state. Return your marked ballot ASAP! States differ in the routes they permit for ballot return. These include postal mail, fax, carrier and electronic return. Check the deadlines and routes for ballot return in your state through the Federal Voter Assistance Program (FVAP) and the US Vote Foundation.
Contact the US Voting Committee to get advice and to report problems at .
Tips on ballot return
Using the US Postal Service (USPS) for ballot return (this includes using the diplomatic pouch) seems increasingly unreliable. Consider alternatives to USPS. Keep an eye on the news, and consider returning your ballot by other means. Here’s why.
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 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.
Next steps: track your ballot
Track your ballot’s progress. Let us know how long it took from the time/place you mailed it to the time /place it was received. See further details here; the advice is still valid.
Questions? Contact FAWCO’s US Voting Committee (email: ).
We stand for democracy. This is the one true power we have!
