If you consider voting to be not just a right but a civic responsibility, you might be interested to know that US citizens can vote from anywhere in the world. And you might be surprised to learn that very few overseas citizens actually exercise those voting rights.
According to the Overseas Population Analysis conducted by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, of the 5.7 million US citizens residing overseas, 2.6 million of them are eligible to vote. But in 2014, only 93,000 ballots were received from eligible voters: a dismal 4% turnout rate.
When surveyed, overseas citizens said the top reason they didn’t vote was because they faced issues voting absentee. Having just voted from Colombia, I can attest to the difficulties one might face casting a ballot from outside the US. It took me nearly three weeks to complete the process, and I had help from the Peace Corps.
Voting from abroad is definitely doable. But it is neither quick nor easy. This is a good point to bring up the next time someone suggests that all US votes should be cast on election day only. If this were the case, folks serving abroad in the military, diplomatic corps, and Peace Corps would be unable to vote. Likewise for citizens working abroad, living abroad with their foreign spouses, or just traveling outside the country on election day.
The process for overseas voting is relatively straightforward, though details differ from state to state. The basic steps include:
- requesting an absentee ballot by filling out a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA);
- receiving your ballot via email or hyperlink;
- filling out your ballot, along with some paperwork to confirm/attest to your identity;
- returning your ballot by mailing it, faxing it, or dropping it off at a US Embassy (American Citizen Services).
Of course, the devil is in the details. And, as you might imagine, some states make it easier than others. As a resident of San Francisco, California, I am pretty lucky in this regard, as we are allowed to fax our ballots. Some states require them to be mailed, which can be challenging in countries with unreliable postal services. FedEx is sometimes an option, but it isn’t cheap. Even with the fax option, it took some diligence and trial-and-error on my part to vote in the November 8, 2022 midterm elections. Here’s how I did it.
Step 1: Visit FVAP.gov
I started by visiting the website of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. From there, I was able to select “California” from a pull-down menu to find my election office and see my state’s guidelines, election dates and deadlines. At https://www.fvap.gov/california, I first clicked California’s Online Tool, where I confirmed that my existing voter registration was up to date.
Step 2: Fill out the FPCA form
Next, I clicked “Start the FPCA” (Federal Post Card Application) to request an absentee ballot. From a pull-down menu, I chose San Francisco as my jurisdiction, then identified myself as a US citizen living outside the country who intends to return. Next, I filled out a form with personal information, birthdate, and contact information. I provided my Driver’s License number for identification purposes. (A State ID number or last 4 digits of Social Security Number are also options). I provided my voting residence address in San Francisco (you can only vote from one jurisdiction) as well as a mailing address in Colombia. I used the Peace Corps office address in Barranquilla, though I could have simply entered Barranquilla, Colombia. I chose to receive my ballot via email/online, rather than by mail or fax, which meant I also needed to provide an email address. After completing the form, I was able to review it before downloading it.
Step 3: Send the completed FPCA form to the local elections office
Because my signature on the form was required to match my signature on file at the elections office, I needed to print and sign the form, rather than using DocuSign to add an electronic signature. I don’t have a printer, but my host brother does, so I sent the document to him via WhatsApp, and he left it on the kitchen table for me to retrieve the following morning. After signing the form, I used the TinyScanner app on my phone to take a photo of it, convert it to PDF, email it to myself, and attach it to an email sent to the SF Elections Office. Within a few hours, I received a confirmation email from an actual human letting me know my application had been received and processed.
Step 4: Fill out the ballot
Within a week of submitting my FPCA form, I received an email from the SF Elections Office that included a link to my ballot, along with reminders about key dates to ensure my ballot was returned in time to be counted. I followed the link, where I was required to enter the house number of my SF address, my zip code, and date of birth to access the (very long) ballot. Then, I filled it out, reviewed it, and downloaded it as a PDF document.
Return options included mail, fax, and dropping off the ballot at a US Embassy. I’m unfamiliar with Colombia’s postal system, which is rumored to be less than reliable. Plus, my Spanish language skills haven’t yet reached the level that I am comfortable completing such a complex transaction. I have no idea where the nearest US Embassy office is located. But I do know that I don’t have enough free time to get there, even if one exists in Barranquilla.
So I chose the fax option, which requires downloading, filling out, and submitting a Voter Oath for Fax Ballot Return along with the ballot. The form includes a Declaration that states, in part, “I declare under penalty of perjury that I either reside within the precinct in which I am voting or am qualified to vote therein per California Elections Code 321(b); that I am the voter whose name appears on this form; and that I have neither applied nor intend to apply, for a vote-by-mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for this election…”
I had an upcoming appointment a week later in the Peace Corps office in Barranquilla, which requires a 3-hour round-trip by bus and taxi. While there, I was able to email the PDF docs to a staff member from my phone so they could print them and I could sign them. But my fax dreams were crushed, because the administrative assistant was out of the office that day, and no one else knew if they actually had a fax machine, much less how to use it. (Shout-out to Administrative Assistants, who deserve more respect than they get, in general!)
Step 5: Send in the ballot
When I returned home later that night, I asked my host mom if she knew of a fax service in town. She told me there are no landlines in our community (everyone uses cell phones), which means fax machines don’t work here.
So began the search for a phone app I could use to fax documents. There were several to choose from that were free to download, but most required a subscription in order to actually send a fax. I chose EasyFax, which had good reviews in the Google Play store, and which did not require a subscription. It did, however, require me to buy a few dollars worth of credits to send a 3-page fax. But first, I needed to turn the newly signed documents into PDFs.
I used TinyScanner (again) to photograph the pages, convert them to PDF, and save them to Google Drive. Then, I attempted to fax them using EasyFax, but the fax wouldn’t go through. I did a bit more reading about the app and learned that it worked in the US and several European countries, but not in Colombia. So I googled “free fax app Colombia Android” and found SnapFax. After downloading this second app from the Google Play store, I purchased a few dollars worth of SnapFax credits and faxed my ballot. The call connected quickly, and the app confirmed that my fax was successfully sent.
Still, I wasn’t 100% sure. So I emailed the SF Elections Office to ask if they had received my faxed ballot. Within a couple of hours, I received an email reply from a staff person confirming receipt. I also received a second, automated message confirming the same. This is because I previously signed up for BallotTrax, a free ballot tracking service available throughout California, and seven other states, as well as in select counties in 11 more states, including Oregon. (Hot Tip: Visit WheresMyBallot.com to find out if BallotTrax is available in your area!)
I’m absolutely thrilled that I was able to vote from abroad, despite the (mostly minor) difficulties I experienced in doing so. If you or anyone you know is planning to vote from abroad, please hurry up and start the process, because it will likely take longer than you think, especially if you live in a state that requires you to mail your ballot. Be a voter, no matter where you are.
Please note: Any opinions or views expressed in this blog post are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views of the Peace Corps.