While the 2024 US election remains the most important of our lives, overseas voters may face additional barriers to casting their ballots this year. Consider whether any of the problems below may affect you and take action now. Protect your right to vote today!
- Check your registration status through Can I Vote.
- Be sure that your signature on your ballot envelope matches the one you used on your registration form.
- Reject misinformation from local election officials.
- If your state does not list you as an eligible voter, re-register through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) or the US Vote Foundation.
- Send a back-up ballot (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot – FWAB) if a US or local post office returns election materials to you, or your ballot has not arrived by September 28.
- Report problems with registration or voting to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at , the US Vote Foundation’s Voter Help Desk and FAWCO () for help and advice.
- Help spread the word by attending and promoting the US Voting Town Hall that FAWCO will hold on Zoom on September 4 at 19:00 CET. Click here for details and here to register in advance.
Remember, ballots will start going out to us on September 21, and we will need to complete them correctly and return them as fast as possible. Include the advice above in your plan to ensure that your vote is counted in 2024.
Check your registration status
After you have sent your registration form/ballot request (the Federal Postcard Application – FPCA) to your local election official (LEO), check to see that you are registered to vote.
An easy way to do this is to go to Can I Vote (operated by the National Association of Secretaries of State). You can also contact your LEO and ask for confirmation directly. Their contact details are in the PDF that included your FPCA, but you can also find them through the homepages of FVAP and the US Vote Foundation.
Signature matching
Signature (mis)matching – where the LEO checks the signature on your ballot envelope against the one on your FPCA – is one of the most common issues preventing ballots from abroad from being counted. If you have concerns or are unsure about the signature on file for you, contact your LEO now to check for potential issues.
(Tip for the future: always keep the scan of your FPCA to be sure of the signature you used.)
Misinformation
Misinformation is common, and LEOs may inadvertently give the wrong information to voters from abroad. If a LEO tells you, for example, that living overseas means you gave up your right to vote, contact FVAP (), the US Vote Foundation’s Voter Help Desk and FAWCO ().
Voter-roll purges and challenges
Ohio recently purged thousands of voters; Georgia permits any individual to challenge the eligibility of as many voters as they like. Similarly, groups and individual activists have challenged the eligibility of tens of thousands of Texas voters. Groups are also challenging voters in 10 other states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. What do you think the effects of numerous successful challenges would be on close elections?
If your registration has been purged or you cannot verify that you are registered to vote, re-register right away. Go to FVAP or the US Vote Foundation, and fill out and send in a new FPCA now.
Post office returning election materials to overseas senders
In some cases, election materials going through the New York International Service Center for inbound international mail are returned to the senders with a “Nixie” label.
Use email or fax wherever possible to vote your ballot. If you are required to return ballots by mail, do it as early as possible. If the voted ballot is returned to you (or if it fails to arrive by September 28), vote a new ballot using the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) and use a courier as a workaround.