2025 Is Around The Corner – It’s An Election Year!

2025 is an election year.  What’s that you say?  We just had elections for President and Congress in November 2024.  We can’t be having elections again so soon.  You’re right; and yet, there are two states that have elections for governor, lieutenant governor and state legislature in 2025 — New Jersey and Virginia — on November 4, 2025.  The primary date in New Jersey has not yet been set.  The primary date in Virginia is June 17, 2025.  If you are a Virginia overseas civilian voter and you mark your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) form with an “Intent to Return”, or if you mark the FPCA form with “Return Uncertain” and provide the name of your employer, you can participate in these elections.  New Jersey overseas civilian voters may participate in these elections regardless of how they mark their FPCA form.

Virginia is also holding three special elections for legislature seats – SD-10, SD-32, and HD-26.  The date of the election is January 7, 2025.  If you filed an FPCA form in 2024 and you marked your form with an “Intent to Return” or “Return Uncertain” and provided the name of your employer, you should receive your ballot to participate in these special elections.

Wisconsin has an election for State Supreme Court, Superintendent of Public Instruction and several other positions.  The primary is on February 18, 2025 and the general election is on April 1, 2025.  Wisconsin overseas civilian voters who mark their FPCA form with an “Intent to Return” may participate in these elections.

Pennsylvania has an election to retain three (3) State Supreme Court Justices on November 4, 2025.  Pennsylvania overseas civilian voters who mark their FPCA form with “Intent to Return” can participate in this election.

In addition, after the new President is sworn-in on January 20, 2025, it is anticipated that several of the new cabinet appointments will be sitting members of Congress, including Michal Waltz (FL-6) and Elise Stefanik (NY-21).  Furthermore, one cabinet designee to head the Department of Justice, Matt Gaetz (FL-1), resigned from Congress and then withdrew from consideration for appointment; therefore, Gaetz’s seat will have to be replaced in a special election.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has already set the date for the special election, with primaries on January 28, 2025 and a general election on April 1, 2025.   The dates of the New York special election primaries and general election have not yet been set by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.  It is possible that there will be additional special elections as a result of resignations or vacancies. Therefore, every U.S. citizen should be ready to vote in case an ordinary or special election is called in your jurisdiction in 2025.

U.S. citizens have the right to vote in all federal primary and general elections, no matter where in the world they live! If you’re a U.S. citizen, or dual-national, and will be 18 on the appropriate Election Day, you have the right to vote from abroad in US elections!  As noted above, participation in certain state primary and general elections may be restricted depending on whether you mark your FPCA form with an “Intent to Return”.

As a U.S. citizen, you can register to vote from abroad while living, working, or traveling overseas by submitting one form — the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). It doesn’t matter if you were registered to vote before you left the U.S., how long you’ve lived outside the U.S., or if you’ve never resided in the U.S. at all. You have the right to vote!

The U.S. State Department recommends, “all U.S. citizens living abroad complete and submit a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) annually, to ensure you remain on your state’s voter rolls and to ensure your local election office has your up-to-date contact information.” Vote From Abroad provides all the information, forms, and support help in one place to make voting easy!

Please note that there is NO IN-PERSON VOTING in Israel for U.S. elections!

What’s covered in this article:

1. Registering to vote and requesting your ballot
2. Confirming your request has been accepted
3. Receiving your ballot
4. 30 days before Election Day and the ballot hasn’t arrived?
5. Voting your ballot
6. Returning your ballot
7. Checking twice to prevent mistakes
8. Confirming your ballot’s arrival
9. What to do if you encounter difficulties
10. Getting your “I Voted from Israel” Stickers

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1. Registering to vote and requesting your ballot

The first step is to request your ballot, and if need be, register to vote from abroad. You should do this every election year to ensure you remain on your state’s overseas voter rolls and to ensure your local election office has your up-to-date contact information. It’s important to register as an absentee voter from abroad because the ballots of US citizens voting from abroad have special protections and are different from the standard absentee ballot.

Go to votefromabroad.org to fill out your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) absentee ballot request — it takes 5-10 minutes! If you’re not registered to vote, the FPCA also serves as a voter registration form. Choose the option to receive ballots by email.

The second step is to submit the FPCA absentee ballot request form to your local election office in the United States. Most states allow you to submit your FPCA directly from votefromabroad.org without the need to print it out. But some states require that you submit your completed form by email attachment, fax, or postal mail. State deadlines and submission methods can be found here.

If you have any questions while filling out your request form, go to the Vote from Abroad FAQ section or type your question in the website’s chatbox (red circle in the bottom right-hand corner of each screen). Or you can email us at info@ameridemsisrael.com

2. Confirming your request has been accepted

After submitting your FPCA absentee ballot request form, call or email your Local Election Official (LEO) to confirm they have received it and will be sending your ballot. Your LEO’s contact information is listed in the instructions generated when you fill out your FPCA form at Vote from Abroad. You can also look up their contact info here.

Most states provide a website where you can verify your voter status. To find your state’s website, click here and scroll down to “Where Is My Ballot?”

3. Receiving your ballot

Your overseas absentee ballot is not your standard absentee ballot back home! Thanks to the MOVE Act, all states must send FPCA-requested  absentee ballots to overseas voters no later than 45 days before a federal election.

And, if requested, all states must send overseas voters their ballot by email.

You don’t need to wait for ballots to arrive. If you’re worried your ballot won’t arrive in time for you to return it by the deadline, send in a Backup Ballot NOW. The Backup Ballot (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot or FWAB) is specifically for overseas voters who are concerned they won’t receive their official ballot in time to return it by the deadline. All details about the Backup Ballot can be found here.

4. Your ballot hasn’t arrived?

Check your spam folder. Still no ballot? Contact your local election official here and confirm they’ve sent your ballot to you. Go to votefromabroad.org if you need to send in a new FPCA absentee ballot request form.

If you haven’t received your ballot by 30 days before Election Day and your state requires postal mail return, we recommend you send in a Backup Ballot to make sure your vote gets to your state in time. All details about the Backup Ballot can be found here.

5. Voting your ballot

It’s easy to get informed about candidates, ballot initiatives, and judicial candidates and important to vote your ballot completely. State and local races are critical!

The simplest way is to vote for Democrats straight down the ballot. Some elected positions do not list a party affiliation, like school boards, judges, and others. To determine who to vote for in those cases, you can do the following:

• Google your county’s local Democratic Party
• Go to the League of Women Voters personalized ballot service
• Go to Ballotpedia – Choose your state
• Google the candidate’s name to find their campaign website

6. There are lots of ways to return your ballot!

Remember! Only use a mail service if you cannot return your ballot electronically

Ballot return methods – by email, online, postal mail, fax – vary by state. Always return your ballot as quickly as possible, but especially if your state only allows postal mail return. Always read the instructions that came with your ballot carefully! Find your state’s ballot return methods here.

If your state allows email, online upload or fax  for ballot return, please use these options as they’re not subject to loss or delay! Here is more information on fax submission.

If your state requires postal mail return, see info below on options from Israel.

New Jersey Voters: Please note that New Jersey allows for email or fax returns, but requires that the ballot ALSO be sent by postal mail.

New York Voters: Here are instructions on How to fold the New York State General Election ballot.

International Postal Service:

If your state requires postal mail ballot return, one option is to use express international mail from the Israel Postal Service. Please remember mail service can be slow and send your ballot as soon as possible!

You should – and some states require you – to deliver your ballot on or before Election Day.   Find out your state’s requirements here.

➡ The U.S. Embassy/Consulate diplomatic pouch: The U.S. Embassy in Israel requests that ballots sent by the diplomatic post be dropped off no later than four (4) weeks before the ballot due date. The diplomatic pouch leaves weekly on Tuesday mornings.  Ballots should be dropped off no later than Monday to be included in the weekly pouch shipment.  You will need to place your ballots in a U.S. postage paid return envelopes (usually provided with your ballot) or in envelopes bearing sufficient U.S. postage. You can download a free U.S. postage-paid return envelope template at FVAP.gov.

Please be aware that using the diplomatic pouch is very slow. It can take weeks for your ballot to reach its final destination. Use a Back-up Ballot to make the diplomatic pouch deadline if your regular ballot hasn’t arrived. Find out more here.

The U.S. Embassy address in Jerusalem is:  14 Flusser Street, Jerusalem

The U.S. Embassy Branch Office address in Tel Aviv is: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv

Important Note regarding drop-off ballots:

Voters are permitted to drop off ballots without an appointment at the American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.  Ballots can be dropped off at the drop box at American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem from 8:00AM-2:00PM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or at the Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv from 8:00AM-2:00PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. No appointment is necessary.

More information is on the Embassy website 

Courier Service:

If your state requires postal mail ballot return, the quickest option is to use a courier service like DHL, Federal Express, etc.

Even with expedited courier services though, ballots still take several days to get to the United States. Please send your ballot as soon as possible! Do not wait! You should – and some states require you – to deliver your ballot on or before Election Day.   Find out your state’s requirements here.

Courier services cannot send to a P.O. Box! Be sure to confirm a street address with your local election official if a P.O. Box is the return address on your ballot.

7. Checking twice to prevent mistakes

When filling out and packaging your ballot, don’t forget to review the instructions carefully. Don’t let human error spoil your ballot!

Regardless of how you send in your ballot, remember that you – the voter – must be the one who places it “in the mail.” In some states, it is unlawful for any other person to handle your voted ballot, even if it is sealed. Need help? Contact us at: info@ameridemsisrael.com

8. Confirming your ballot’s arrival at your local election office in the United States

Once you’ve sent your ballot, follow up with your local election official to make sure that it arrived and will be counted. Please do not just assume that your ballot has made it!

The easiest way to ensure your ballot has arrived is to go to “Track Your Ballot” on your state’s website. You can also look up your local election office’s contact details here and contact them directly. They may be experiencing a high volume of calls, so you may need to be persistent to get through to someone.

9. Having trouble? Need help?

We understand that the voting process to some states can be confusing — that’s why we’re here to help! Send us an email at  info@ameridemsisrael.com

Or, a one-on-one live voter help is just a Zoom away! Click in to ZoomTheVote, hosted and staffed by experienced VoteFromAbroad voter helpers, from anywhere in the world. Please share widely

10. Get your “I Voted from Israel”sticker

Thank you for voting!  If you would like to print an “I Voted from Israel” sticker go here.