Voting Info

Important Notice About The U.S. Elections

We strongly encourage you to register to vote and/or request absentee ballots as early in the year as possible to ensure that you will receive all ballots for which you are eligible.   Should questions or problems occur, you would still be able to address them in time to vote in the general elections.

The following is the basic absentee voting process:

• You complete an application form (see below) and send it to local election officials in the U.S.
• The local official approves your request, or contacts you for further information
• The local official sends you an absentee ballot
• You vote the ballot and send it back in time to meet your state's deadline

The official US Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at http://www.fvap.gov/.  It has a wealth of information about absentee voting, including the downloadable absentee ballot application, state-specific instructions for completing the form, links to state and local officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot.
 
Overseas citizens groups help people to vote.  We encourage you to contact Democrats Abroad, Republicans Abroad or other American citizens groups or organizations for assistance in registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots.  Links to these groups are at http://www.fvap.gov/links/ocitlinks.html.

To register to vote and to request an absentee ballot, download the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.html.  You can also obtain this form from overseas American citizens groups or from the U.S. Embassy/Consulate.  Fill it out and send it in, following the guidelines for your state.  A postage-paid envelope template, valid if you are using the U.S. postal system, is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/returnenvelope.html.

Each state has different voting procedures.  Information about your state's procedures is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag/vagchapter3.html.  Information about your state's deadlines to register and vote is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/primarycal.html. A calendar of election dates is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/primarycal.html.

To check the status of your voter registration, contact your State or Local Election Office.  The Federal Voting Assistance Program website has a listing of all the State Election Office’s websites.  Simply visit our website at http://www.fvap.gov/ and select the State Election Site.  Once at this homepage, you’ll find a great deal of election information including how to contact your local election office.

States sometimes make last-minute changes.  There may be late changes to your state's voting calendar, procedures or deadlines.  When these occur, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) will issue a News Release.  News Releases are available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/releases.html.

You may be able to vote by absentee ballot from Mauritius, Seychelles, or Reunion Island, even if you were never registered to vote. For voting purposes you must register using the address in the state where you last resided immediately prior to your departure from the United States. If you never resided in the United States, you may register and vote in the last state that your parents, or grandparents, resided in before your birth.  Seventeen states have specific rules that permit foreign-born American citizens who have never resided in the U.S. to use their parents’ state of voting residence: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.  For other states, please send your Federal Postcard Application to the appropriate local board of elections since the state determines your eligibility.
  
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 Federal Voting Assistance Program website at http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html, or choose any one of several search engines to locate articles and information.

An emergency ballot is available.  If the ballot receipt deadline is approaching, and you have not yet received the blank ballot from local officials, you can download an emergency ballot, write in the names of the candidates and the offices for which they are running, and send it back in time to meet your state's ballot receipt deadline.  The emergency ballot (SF-186, Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB) is available on the Internet at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/forms.html.

Additionally, Consular personnel at the U.S. Embassy and Consular Agency in Mauritius and Seychelles are available to answer questions about absentee voting.  To contact Consular personnel, contact the Embassy or Agency, or send an e-mail to PTLconsular@state.gov.   Please include your name, date of birth, phone number, e-mail address, and last state of legal residence.

If your election materials require a witness or notary signature, please see information concerning notarial services provided at the U.S. Embassy and the Consular Agency.
Look for notices from the Embassy throughout the year relating to the elections at http://mauritius.usembassy.gov/information_for_travelers.html or http://seychelles.usvpp.gov/citizen_services.html.

You may also refer to our most frequently asked questions at: http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vin/html06vins/jul06vin.html

Again, we strongly encourage you to begin this process as soon as possible.