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2008 Absentee Voting
In 2008, there will be not only congressional elections, but also
a presidential election, the campaigning for which has started
unusually early (2008 primary election calendar). Act early by
following 2008 voting guideline here.
Voting Information for the 2008 Primary and
General Elections
October 2007
This is a reminder that in just three months we will be entering
the U. S. presidential and state primary season. Five primaries are
currently slated for January, another 20 are scheduled for February,
and the rest take place from early March through early October.
Registration for the first primary (the District of Columbia) closes
December 10, 2007. We encourage you to act now so that your opinion
is heard - not only in the November 2008 presidential and general
elections, but also in the presidential primary and state primary
elections! The official U.S. Government website for overseas
absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program
(FVAP) website http://www.fvap.gov/.
Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are or will be
residing outside the United States during an election period are
eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office. This
includes primary, run-off, and special elections that occur
throughout the year, as well as the general election in November
2008. Some states allow overseas voters to vote in elections for
state and local offices, and for state and local referendums.
Voting eligibility and residency requirements are determined by
the various U.S. states, and are available on-line at http://fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html.
Your "legal state of residence" for voting purposes is the state
where you last resided immediately prior to departure from the
United States. Voting rights extend to overseas citizens even though
they may no longer own property or have other ties to their last
state of residence, and even if their intent to return to that state
may be uncertain. For those who have never resided in the U.S.,
sixteen states, to date, allow eligible U.S. citizens to register
where a parent would be eligible to vote.
To register to vote and/or apply for an absentee ballot, you can
use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The
on-line version, the OFPCA, is accepted by all states and
territories except American Samoa and Guam. Voters from American
Samoa and Guam must use the standard form of the FPCA, available at
the Consulate General or through many American civic groups. The
on-line OFPCA form must be completed legibly, printed, signed,
dated, and mailed to your local election officials. Your state may
allow faxing to speed the process, but you will still need to send
in the original by mail. Use an envelope and affix proper postage.
The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting
assistance, http://www.fvap.gov/,
has a wealth of information about absentee voting, including the
state-specific instructions for completing the FPCA form, links to
state and local officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot for
use by those who register in time but fail to receive an official
ballot.
As a general rule, you should try to send in the FPCA so that it
reaches your local election officials at least forty-five days
before the first election in which you are eligible to vote - ample
time for them to process the request and send you a blank ballot. If
applying for both registration and an absentee ballot, you may want
to mail the FPCA earlier. One FPCA will qualify you to receive all
ballots for Federal offices for the next two regular Federal
elections (through 2010). However, we recommend that you submit a
new FPCA in January of every year, and whenever you move, to ensure
that your most recent mailing and e-mail addresses are on file with
your local election officials.
Under normal circumstances, most states and territories begin
sending ballots to overseas citizens 30-45 days before an election.
However, if you haven’t received your ballot within three weeks of
your state’s ballot receipt deadline, and you are required to return
your voted ballot by mail, you should download, complete, sign,
date, and send in a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB),
available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefwab.html.
Make sure it is witnessed if required by your state. If you
subsequently receive your regular absentee ballot, execute it and
return it regardless of when you receive it. Court decisions
sometimes require late counting of ballots voted by Election Day,
but received by local election officials for a specified period of
time following Election Day.
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 FVAP website at http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html,
read your hometown newspaper on-line, or search the Internet to
locate articles and information.
The Voting Assistance Officer at the U.S.
Embassy/Consulate in Kyiv, Ukraine is also always available to
answer questions about absentee voting. To contact the Voting
Assistance Officer, call 8044-490-4445 or send an e-mail to votekyivREMOVE@REMOVEstate.gov. | 
