Nearly 3 million U.S. citizens vote from overseas every year, but where exactly are they voting from? According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), these are the top 10 countries with the highest population of U.S. citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote.
Just like you, these individuals (and all other voters protected under the UOCAVA Act) can participate in U.S. elections by prioritizing one thing: registering and requesting a ballot early with the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).
FVAP suggests making it a goal to register and request your absentee ballot with the FPCA by August 1st of every election year. Using the FPCA ensures that your state will send your ballot to you at least 45 days before the election — a protection not guaranteed when using other absentee voting forms. When you use the FPCA, you can also select to have your blank ballot sent to you electronically to speed up the process.
Once you fill out the short online form, just print it, sign and send it to your election office. Depending on which state you're voting in, you may have the option to mail, fax or email your FPCA.
You'll need to know your voting residence (the U.S. state or territory where you are registering to vote), which is likely to be your address in the state in which you were last domiciled, immediately prior to leaving the United States. See more information on determining your voting residence.
Once you submit your FPCA, be on the lookout for your ballot in September. Vote, sign and send it back to your election office as soon as it arrives.
If you requested your ballot but haven't received it, contact your election office to ask about the status of your ballot request.
Worried you'll forget a voting deadline? You can download your state's calendar alerts to stay on top of important registration, request, and voting deadlines here. Simply click on your state to download Google calendar alerts on your desktop or phone, and you'll be notified when a deadline is 2 days away.
Get started at FVAP.gov/overseas.
