In 2022, three-quarters of the 1.3 million active duty service members were eligible to vote in elections via absentee ballots. However, only 26% of eligible service members cast their ballots, compared to 48% of their civilian counterparts.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) provides all the resources you need to easily vote via absentee ballot, whether you’re stateside or overseas. And to make sure your vote counts, here is a step-by-step guide to ensure your ballot makes it in time for the next election.
When Your Ballot Arrives
As soon as you receive your ballot, fill it out, sign it, and mail it back to your local election office, which you can easily find using FVAP’s election office search tool.
But we all know life can get hectic. If you can’t send in your ballot right away, the Voter Assistance Guide will help you determine election deadlines for your home state. If you’re serving overseas, FVAP even has a handy recommended mailing date chart based on your duty station. These no-later-than mailing dates range from October 1st to October 25th, depending on where you are serving. For example, service members at sea should send their ballots out significantly earlier than military members stationed abroad and stateside.
Once you’ve mailed your ballot, you can check its status to make sure it’s been received here.
If You’re Short on Time
Don’t think you’ll receive your blank ballot in time to vote? Use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) as a backup. Filling out the FWAB is very easy. Just complete the form online, print it, sign it and then send it to your local election office.
To make things even easier, most states allow service members to submit their ballots by fax or email. This graphic shows which states offer voting options in addition to postal mail.
The Ultimate Absentee Ballot Tools
Need a little more information about absentee voting? Here are some useful resources to make voting a breeze:
- FVAP currently has more than 230 Installation Voter Assistance Offices worldwide, so you can get in-person help from a Voting Assistance Officer (VAO).
- Find state-specific absentee regulations and ballot deadlines using the Voter Assistance Guide.
- Want to make sure you get your ballot in on time? Sign up for absentee voting reminders and alerts.
- Check out absentee voting information for military spouses and family members.
FVAP is there to help you through every step of the absentee voting process. Contact them with any questions at 1-800-438-VOTE (8683).