Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away!
Remember U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States. The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 8. U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2016 U.S. elections should already have returned their absentee ballots to their local election officials.
Never received your ballot?
If you registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot prior to your state’s registration deadline, but have not yet received your ballot, complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state’s deadline. If your regular ballot arrives later, complete and return it as well. Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state’s deadline. Your vote will not be counted twice.
Returning your ballot
You may drop off your ballot at the U.S. Embassy in London and U.S. Consulates in Belfast and Edinburgh. Make sure to place it in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. To ensure your ballot is delivered on time to local election officials,it must be received no later than the following dates and times:
U.S. Embassy London: Wednesday, October 12 at 8:00 a.m.
U.S. Consulate Belfast: Monday, October 10 at 12:00 p.m.
U.S. Consulate Edinburgh: Thursday, October 6 at 8:00 a.m.
Missed the U.S. embassy/consulate shipment deadline?
Consider returning your ballot to the United States via Royal Mail, an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or electronically if allowed by your state. If you are using Royal Mail or an express delivery company, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow adequate time for international mail delivery prior to your state’s voting deadline. Check your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.
Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax.
If you have previously registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot but it has not yet arrived the following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials: Alaska (fax only), Arizona (contact election official first), Arkansas (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida (fax only), Hawaii (fax only), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana (fax only), Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (fax only paper copy must also be mailed), Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma (fax only), Oregon (paper copy must also be mailed), Rhode Island (fax only), South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Review your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov carefully for guidance.
Help spread the word about overseas voting.
Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting. Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot. Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.
Have Questions?
You can contact Embassy London’s Voting Assistance Officer at LondonVote@state.gov. For U.S. citizens in Northern Ireland, contact ACSBelfast@state.gov. U.S. citizens in Scotland can contact Edinburgh-Info@state.gov. You can also contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program directly if you encounter issues with local election officials by emailing Vote@FVAP.gov or toll free by phone from many countries around the world.
Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online.
Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.
