By Hope Bradberry
United States citizens living abroad run the risk of disenfranchisement. Most states require you to request your ballot every calendar year despite your registration status. Federal law only requires states to send an overseas voter their ballot if they request annually. The good news is that you can request your ballot to be sent via email, and it will be sent forty-five days prior to the election.
Even if you previously registered to vote and have been receiving election materials, visit the website of your state’s Secretary of State and click the link to check your status. Primary season is starting. Now is a good time to register and/or request your ballot to make sure you get your ballot in time and use your state’s primary as a practice run.
Registering or requesting your ballot in any state as an overseas voter requires completing and submitting a one-page Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) form. The user-friendly, online site, www.votefromabroad.org makes it a simple process – guidance appears at this article’s end.
The site generates your completed FPCA and gives you the chance to upload your signature and then emails it directly to your local election official. California requires the form to be downloaded, signed, scanned and emailed, or if you have a current CA driver’s license you can go to the state website and do it all on-line. Some states require the form to be mailed (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, and New York). If you are registering to vote, a few more states require the form to be mailed, but the site will let you know. If you have to mail your form the US Consular Agent in La Luciernaga will pouch it to the US.
Pointers to fill out the form:
Provide your Mexican street address. Give the address where you currently live outside the US. You will not receive your ballot at this address. You will request your ballot come via email.
Use the last address where you were registered to vote in the US. You don’t need to still be there. If you are not sure about your last voter registration, it is where you last lived in the US even if that was thirty years ago (and unless you registered in another state when you moved). The answer determines where your vote will count. They do not mail your ballot there.
Intend to return? Return is uncertain? If you reply that you intend to return, it can have tax implications if the state levies income taxes. For most expats in San Miguel, choosing my “return is uncertain” is probably the best choice. If you do intend to return, it will usually give you the opportunity to vote down ballot.
If you have trouble, the San Miguel chapter of Democrats Abroad has an office open on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at Ancha de San Antonio #10. We welcome all voters that need assistance. Don’t delay, be ready for primaries and the important mid-term elections in November. You have the right to vote in the midterms.
