How do you vote in the US as an expat?

[origami]

I just realized I'm not sure how to vote anymore! Do you tell your city clerk's office your foreign address or will they only mail an absentee ballot to a US address? Do you have to request absentee ballots while you're in the US? We don't move for another 1.5 months so I have time. We are not military, if that matters.

[origami]

Oh and we recently moved to a different US city so I have not voted in this particular city before. I'm not sure if that affects the AV process.

[Deleted]

I just got this email a few weeks ago about voting while abroad. HTH!

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

Did you know that many recent U.S. elections have been decided by a margin smaller than the number of ballots cast by military and overseas voters. All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline.

Follow a few steps to make sure that you can vote in the 2014 U.S. Elections:

Register to Vote: Complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). Even if you have voted by absentee ballot in the past, you must complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to vote in the 2014 elections. The FPCA is accepted by all local election officials in all U.S. states and territories. It allows you to register to vote and to request absentee ballots for all regular, primary, run-off, and special elections for federal offices (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives) during the course of the year it is submitted in.

You can complete the FPCA online at FVAP.gov. The online voting assistant will ask you questions specific to your state. It will tell you if your state allows the FPCA to be returned electronically or if you must submit a paper copy with original signature.

Receiving Your Ballot: Request Electronic Delivery! States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before a regular election for federal office (President, U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives) and states generally send out ballots at least 30 days before primary elections. No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically. Be sure to include your email address on your FPCA to take advantage of the electronic ballot delivery option. You can now also confirm your registration and ballot delivery online for most states.

Researching the Candidates and Issues: Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues. Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues are widely available and easy to obtain via numerous websites such as Project Smart Voter. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, or search the Internet to locate articles and information. For information about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP's Voting Alerts ([e-mail]). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook and Twitter.

Other Options for Returning Your Completed Ballot: If your state requires you to return paper voting forms or ballots to local election officials, you can do so free of charge at the nearest embassy or consulate. They must be in either postage paid return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage, and must also be addressed to the relevant local election officials. Embassy London will accept forms and ballots Monday through Friday, from 08:00 until 17:00. Please enter at the U.S. citizen entrance and the material will be scanned by security and placed in the box for mailing by Embassy mail. Only ballots and voting forms can be accepted, no other U.S. mail or messages for Embassy employees. Transit time from the Embassy back to the United States is approximately 10 working days. Alternatively, sufficient local postage can be attached to your forms and ballots and sent by International Air Mail through UK mail.

Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website FVAP.gov. If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact Post’s Special Consular Services via e-mail at [e-mail]

[GilliC]

Short answer:
www.votefromabroad.org/

[origami]

Thank you!!

[potatopie]

for the presidential election, the consulate in our city set up a "voting" night. all the americans were invited, we got a little speech about safety from the consul, then we used voted. the nice part was that they were there to field questions as needed and then they posted all the ballots, so you knew it would get there safely.

[irishbride2]

We had our absentee address set to my parents. They just mailed us the ballots.

[origami]

Apr 28, 2014 1:18:58 GMT -5 potatopie said:

for the presidential election, the consulate in our city set up a "voting" night. all the americans were invited, we got a little speech about safety from the consul, then we used voted. the nice part was that they were there to field questions as needed and then they posted all the ballots, so you knew it would get there safely.

that's awesome!