Unlike some countries, the US does not limit voting to people who live there – all adult US citizens can vote, no matter how long they have lived outside the country (excluding those who have had their voting rights suspended after committing a crime).
The presidential election is on Tuesday, November 5th.
Even though it takes time to register, request and receive your mailed ballot, you may still have options if you want to get your vote in on time.
How do I vote?
Broadly, you need to be registered to vote and request an overseas absentee ballot to participate in the 2024 election.
If you have never lived in the US, then you'll want to start by finding out if you are eligible to get an absentee ballot and which state you should get one from.
For those who have lived in the US, the homepage for the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) has a dropdown menu where you can select your state to get specific information.
Although some states set their registration deadline up to 30 days before Election Day, the FVAP website is still allowing you to register and request a ballot at the time of writing, six days before the election.
If you haven’t yet registered but are able to do so in time for the election, your requested ballot will not arrive in time (and you won’t be able to return it) for the election.
Similarly, you may have registered to vote but your requested ballot hasn’t arrived yet.
In these two cases, you may still be able to vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee or Backup Ballot (FWAB).
This ballot type is legally allowed specifically for overseas voters who are concerned they won't receive their official ballot in time to return it by the deadline, according to the Vote from Abroad website, which contains detailed information about the option and how it works.
Partisan organisation Democrats Abroad also has a step-by-step guide.
Though states are required to send out ballots to overseas voters until 45 days before an upcoming election, you don't have to wait until ballots go out (or you receive them) and can send in a backup ballot at any time before the election.
As noted above, you must be registered to vote to be able to use a backup ballot. The deadline for voter registration may have already passed depending on the state in which your vote is counted.
You can fill out and submit a backup ballot via the FVAP website here.
Once you’ve filled in the backup ballot, you will be given instructions to download and print out a PDF package containing your completed backup ballot and supporting documents.
How do I submit the backup ballot?
Backup ballots can be returned by the same methods available for an official ballot.
When you fill in the request for a backup ballot, instructions will be generated providing the mailing address and, if applicable, email address and/or fax number for your election office, telling you whether your best option is to post, email or fax the ballot.
The non-partisan US Vote Foundation website also offers specific information for voting requirements for each state – for example you can see the deadlines as well as tools which can check whether you are already registered to vote.
You can see an example for the state of Maryland below, which shows that voter registration must have been completed by October 15th, and requests for postal ballots must have been received by Tuesday, October 29th, while email and online ballots must be requested by November 1st.
Maryland also requires that absentee ballots be postmarked on or before Election Day (November 5th) and received by Friday, November 15th.
As such, if your vote is being counted in Maryland, your best option may be to send a backup ballot by post with a fast or recorded courier service.
This may not be the case for other states, and you should therefore check the relevant information for the state where your vote will be sent and counted.
If you are having any issues, consider reaching out to your local chapter of Republicans Overseas or Democrats Abroad. For a non-partisan alternative, you can check out the FAQ page on the US Vote Foundation website.
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