Registering to vote absentee from abroad
From dKosopedia
Current US law is the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA)[1]. To help to resolve irregularities in absentee voting and other voting issues, this law was amended in 2002 in the Help America Vote Act [2]. Both laws preserve the 1975 Overseas Voting Registration Act which guarantees US citizens living abroad the right to register and vote absentee "whether or not they maintained a US address and whether or not they had a clear intention to return" to the States.
The Federal Voter Assistance Program (FVAP) helps to facilitate the exercise of this right.
To register to vote and request an absentee ballot, citizens must fill out a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The FPCA is available from US Consulates and is downloadable from the FVAP web site The FVAP is also available to answer questions: They can be reached toll free in North America at 1800 438-VOTE. There are other international tollfree numbers as well.
All citizens must register to vote in a state. To do so requires
a. filling out the FPCA in accordance with state regulations State by state rules can be found the FVAP voter assistance guide (VAG) here
b. establishing a voting residence in that state: your voting address is either (a) the address at which you were registered to vote; (b) the last address at which you resided in the US; or (c) if you have never lived in the US, your parents last US address
c. mailing the completed and signed form to your local board of elections or other local elections officer. Addresses of local officers can also be found under the state section in Chapter 3 of the VAG
d. It can help to fax the completed FPCA to the FVAP at 1800.368.8683. You must also mail in your FVAP in most states.
Different states have different deadlines for registering to vote absentee. Very few permit registration under a month before the upcoming election. A summary of deadlines for the 2004 election can be found here.
In the 2004 election a number of websites sprang up to facilitate absentee voter registration:
to name a few.
