Americans Overseas, Time to Vote!

~~49 Days until the November 05 General Election~~

Overseas voters could swing US election result in battleground states. “Americans abroad were instrumental in winning key races in 2016 for [senator] Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, [governor] Roy Cooper in North Carolina, and in 2020 and 2022 for President [Joe] Biden, Senator [Jon] Ossoff and Senator [Raphael] Warnock,” former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

The US state department estimates there are approximately 9 million Americans living abroad. A report on the 2020 presidential vote by the US Election Assistance Commission showed that roughly 1.2 million ballots were sent to eligible overseas voters, and more than 900,000 were returned and submitted for counting. These votes could make the difference in the swing states that will probably decide the election, with Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump running neck and neck.

“Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender.” Keith Ellison

Absentee ballots to eligible overseas citizens who requested them for the 2024 General Election will be emailed or mailed on or about Friday, Sept. 20^th.

Overseas votes are important. If you requested your ballot by email, check your spam folder. Not there? No worries, registered voters who do not receive their ballots by email or mail can submit a Federal Write-in Ballot.

If you have not registered to vote, or have never voted while overseas before, it’s not too late to vote in this important election for President, Congress, and Senate.

The process is easy — just follow these steps:

Complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) Your last address in America is your voting address and determines your voting state. It doesn’t matter if you no longer live there or if it is now a parking lot.

The FPCA allows you to register to vote and request your absentee ballots in one step. If you submit an FPCA, your local election officials will send you an absentee ballot for all elections for federal offices that take place that calendar year. Local election officials in all U.S. states and territories accept the FPCA.

The online voting assistant available at FVAP.gov is an easy way to complete the FPCA. It will ask you questions specific to your state and tell you if electronic ballot delivery is possible. We encourage you to request that your ballot be sent to you electronically. Be sure to include your email address. The online voting assistant will generate a printable FPCA, for you to print and sign.

2. Submit the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)Some states allow voters to submit the FPCA via email as well. See FVAP’s Voting Assistance Guide for specifics on all states. After submission follow-up to make sure you are registered.

3. Receive Your Ballot After submitting your FPCA, most states have an online portal where you can confirm your registration and ballot delivery information. States are required to send ballots 45 days before an election for federal office to any overseas U.S. citizen who has completed an FPCA. If you do not receive your ballot by email or mail, you can vote via a Federal Write-in Ballot.

Return Your Ballot promptly via fax, email, or mail.

Fax– if you don’t have a fax, you can email it to the FVAP at fax@fvap.gov and they will fax it for you. https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/TransmissionCoversheet.pdf

Mail – you have three options:

International mail; however, there has been problems with the USPS. Many voters have had their pre-printed ballot envelopes with the correct address returned by the USPS with a label, “Return to Sender, Can not Forward”
Postage paid free of charge envelope via the US Embassy Jerusalem and US Consulate Tel Aviv. (Monday to Friday 8 am to 1 pm, excluding holidays) Please note that transit time can take over 4 weeks for the Embassy pouch. https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/fpca_envelope.pdf
Courier package. Many states allow one courier envelope with multiple individually sealed ballot envelopes addressed to the same address. It is highly recommended that you verify your election official will accept this procedure. DHL-Israel is offering a 30% discount for sending a package to the US. This is totally nonpartisan. Promocode– USA20 (30% off website prices) Expiration date– 30.11.2024 For more information or help: WhatsApp- https://wa.me/972526350003

The US Postal Service will play a large role in this upcoming election, but potentially not a good one, state and local election officials suggested in a letter on September 11th. The letter from the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors warned that problems with the postal service might disenfranchise voters in the upcoming election.

*Election officials from across the US are warning that issues with the mail delivery system could disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election. A letter to US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, from two groups that represent top election administrators in all 50 states, said, “We have not seen improvement or concerted efforts to remediate our concerns.” Highlighting that ballots mailed on time were often received late or returned as undeliverable. This could result in voters being placed on inactive status.

The two groups, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, have reached out to USPS multiple times without resolution, calling the problems “not one-off mistakes.” They emphasized the urgent need for corrective action, stating, “Failure to do so will risk limiting voter participation and trust in the election process.”

Concerns were raised about inconsistencies in how election mail is handled, with officials stressing the need for USPS to be a reliable partner in the electoral process.

“Talk is cheap, voting is free; take it to the polls.” Nanette L. Avery

Research candidates and issues. Please see the FVAP links page for resources you can use to research candidates and issues. FVAP regularly sends information about election dates and deadlines through their Voting Alerts. Email vote@fvap.gov to subscribe or follow FVAP on Facebook or Twitter.

Ballotpedia offers a Voter Toolkit that provides State Election Info Sheet, Election Administration Tracker that keeps track of the latest election policy, Candidate Survey for voters to better understand how candidates think about the world and how they intend too govern, and much more.

Every Vote Counts!

Your vote does count!! ”I want to assure overseas voters that all eligible voters who return their ballots within the timeframe established by law will have their ballots counted. There is a persistent myth among absentee voters that your vote will only count if “it is close”. Nothing could be further from the truth. All ballots issued to eligible voters, which are returned timely, are counted. Every vote counts. Prior to becoming New York’s chief election official, I served as a County Commissioner and experienced many tight votes. One race was decided by two absentee votes, so I have firsthand experience!” Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky, Chief Election Official, New York State, Co-Executive Director, New York State Board of Elections

Many U.S. elections are decided by a small number of votes. All states are required to count every absentee ballot so long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the state’s absentee ballot receipt deadline. Help is available if you need to contact your election official or for more details on your state guidelines.