Voting Information

Voting Information for the 2008
Primary and General Elections

Not Too Late!

Even though presidential primaries are already in full swing, you still have time to register and request an absentee ballot for the November General Election and a few state primaries.

In fact, voting outside the United States is now easier than ever.  Insufficient mail transit time is a common obstacle that many citizens encounter when voting by absentee ballot.  To date, 51 states and territories allow for some type of electronic transmission of absentee voting materials.  To see electronic transmission options in your state, visit the official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance:  www.fvap.gov.

Who Can Vote

Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are or will be residing outside the
United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election
for Federal office.  This includes primary, run-off, and special elections that occur
throughout the year, as well as the general election in November 2008.  Some states allow
overseas voters to vote in elections for state and local offices, and for state and local
referendums.
Voting eligibility and residency requirements are determined by the various U.S. states, and
are available on-line at http://fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html.  Your "legal state of residence"
for voting purposes is the state where you last resided immediately prior to departure from
the United States.  Voting rights extend to overseas citizens even though they may no
longer own property or have other ties to their last state of residence, and even if
their intent to return to that state may be uncertain.  For those who have never resided
in the U.S., sixteen states, to date, allow eligible U.S. citizens to register where a
parent would be eligible to vote. 

How to vote

To register to vote and/or apply for an absentee ballot, you can use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).  The on-line version, the OFPCA, is accepted by all states and
territories except American Samoa and Guam.  Voters from American Samoa and Guam must use
the standard form of the FPCA, available at the Consulate General or through many American
civic groups.  The on-line OFPCA form must be completed legibly, printed, signed, dated,
and mailed to your local election officials.  Your state may allow faxing to speed the
process, but you will still need to send in the original by mail.  Use an envelope and
affix proper postage.  The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting
assistance, www.fvap.gov, has a wealth of information about absentee voting, including
the state-specific instructions for completing the FPCA form, links to state and local
officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot for use by those who register in time but
fail to receive an official ballot.
As a general rule, you should try to send in the FPCA so that it reaches your local election
officials at least forty-five days before the first election in which you are eligible to
vote --- ample time for them to process the request and send you a blank ballot.  If applying
for both registration and an absentee ballot, you may want to mail the FPCA earlier.
One FPCA will qualify you to receive all ballots for Federal offices for the next two
regular Federal elections (through 2010).  However, we recommend that you submit a new FPCA
in January of every year, and whenever you move, to ensure that your most recent mailing and
e-mail addresses are on file with your local election officials.
Under normal circumstances, most states and territories begin sending ballots to overseas
citizens 30-45 days before an election.  However, if you haven’t received your ballot within three weeks of your state’s ballot receipt deadline, and you are required to return your voted ballot by mail, you should download, complete, sign, date, and send in a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB), available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefwab.html.  Make sure it is witnessed if required by your state.  If you subsequently receive your regular absentee ballot, execute it and return it regardless of when you receive it.  Court decisions sometimes require late counting of ballots voted by Election Day, but received by local election officials for a specified period of time following Election Day.

Be an Educated Voter

Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on
issues is widely available and easy to obtain via the Internet.  Use the links appearing
on the FVAP website at http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html , read your hometown
newspaper on-line, or search the Internet to locate articles and information.
The Voting Assistance Officer in American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy
in Buenos Aires is also always available to answer questions about absentee voting.
To contact the Voting Assistance Officer, call 011-5777-4387 or send an e-mail to
VoteBuenosAires@state.gov.