You may vote absentee in any election for Federal office if you are a U.S. citizen 18 years or older and are a U.S. citizen residing outside the United States. Only certain States allows U.S. citizens who have never resided in the United States to vote. For more information, go to: http://www.fvap.gov.

Registration requirements vary from state to state. Most states and territories require registration to vote absentee. Voter registration and absentee ballot request can be done at the same time by submitting the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). If you are already registered to vote and only wish to request a ballot, you should submit your FPCA as soon as possible.

When mailed from any U.S. post office, U.S. embassy or consulate, or APO/FPO mail facility, the hardcopy voter registration/absentee ballot form is postage-paid. In order to receive free postage, the online version of the form must be mailed in an envelope printed with our postage-paid envelope template. You may mail the completed form in an envelope with proper postage affixed. Ensure that your form is postmarked (see postmarking instructions below) and sent to arrive before your state's specific deadline. You must pay postage if the materials are mailed from a non- U.S. postal facility.

It is recommended that voted ballots be mailed from your location outside the U.S. rather than be given to another individual to be placed in the U.S. postal system. If the ballot is postmarked from any location inside the U.S. your local election official may not count your ballot.

A postmark is a postal marking made on a piece of mail indicating the date and time that the item was accepted by the postal service. Postmarks are used to determine if voting materials have been mailed by state deadlines. Due to varying mail pick up times, the day you 'mail' your election mail may not be the day the postal facility postmarks it.

You may ask the mail clerk to hand stamp the election material so that a date is clearly visible. In certain situations a handwritten postmark and signature from you or a notarizing official may be sufficient.

We recommend that you register to vote/request an absentee ballot in January of each year, or at least 45 days before Election Day.

A citizen usually does not need to submit a separate application for each election. To ensure that you receive absentee ballots for all elections in which you are eligible to vote, we recommend that you submit a new Federal Post Card Application in January of each year and whenever you have a new mailing address. If you are requesting an absentee ballot for a specific election, note in Block 9 the election for which you are requesting the ballot, i.e., "Primary (or Special, or General) election only."

States and territories begin mailing ballots at least 45 days before an election.

If you have requested an absentee ballot from your State but have not received it, you can also vote by using the back-up Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). You may submit the FWAB at any time after you submit your FPCA

In order to be eligible to use this back-up ballot, you must:
1. Be absent from your voting residence
2. Have applied for a regular ballot early enough so the request is received by the appropriate local election official not later than the State deadline or the date that is 30 days before the general election
3. Have not received the requested regular absentee ballot from the State.

If you have not received your ballot one month before the election:
1. Go to FVAP.gov and see what online ballot delivery tools are available for your state.
2. Use the FWAB wizard available at FVAP.gov to complete a back-up ballot and submit it to your local election official. If you cannot access FVAP.gov, you can obtain a hardcopy of the form from your Voting Assistance Officer at military installations or at U.S. embassies/consulates.
3. Contact your local election official to determine the status of your ballot. Contact information is available at FVAP.gov.
4. When you receive your regular absetntee ballot, complete it and return it regardless of when you receive it. Your local election official will ensure that only one of the ballots is counted.