Election Tips from FVAP for September 18, 2010

45 Days Before the General Election, Time to Reach Out!

With the enactment of the MOVE Act, the Federal Voting Assistance Program has developed innovative tools to assist uniformed and civilian overseas voters with the voting process. These tools are cutting the delivery time of ballots to our overseas voters, from weeks to milliseconds, and increasing the likelihood that their ballots will be counted. Besides our efforts at the federal level, many of the States have also launched online tools to expedite transmission times so we are developing enhancements to FVAP.gov to showcase all of these resources. In order for us to be successful, FVAP needs your help spreading the word!

Voting Assistance Officers:

Remind voters in your unit and their family members to complete their Voter Registration/Absentee Ballot Request forms (FPCA, SF76) as soon as possible. State deadlines for registering and requesting ballots for the general election are quickly approaching! Visit the FVAP’s website at www.fvap.gov for all of your absentee voting information. FVAP has the latest absentee voting information and resources as well as links to other sites of interest, including State resources, to help you carry out your duties as a VAO.

Consular Officers:

Use U.S. citizen’s special interest groups and organizations’ websites and publications to network and enlist voting volunteers in the U.S. citizen community to get out the word. Now is the time to reach remote and unfamiliar first-time voters or those who may be unaware of their right to participate in the voting process..

Remember that Absentee Voting Week is September 27- October 4, 2010! You should begin planning events for military personnel, their families and overseas citizens to vote and return their absentee ballots during this week. If they have not received their State absentee ballot, go to www.FVAP.gov and to send a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB, SF 186). The on-line FWAB will list the candidates for federal office running in their jurisdiction. Work with your local commissary, exchange and Embassy personnel and organize voter outreach activities. Aim for 100% contact and make FPCAs and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots (FWABs, SF186) available for these citizens.

What You Can Do:

  • Ask voters if they've received their ballots. If not, direct them to the FVAP website to use our online FWAB wizard.
  • Use media outlets to encourage people to vote using their State ballot or the back-up FWAB.
  • Enlist the help of other VAOs, base organizations, or overseas citizen organizations to conduct events to encourage people to vote and return their absentee ballots.
  • Put up posters that tell people how to reach you for help.


Local Election Officials:

Need an address for active duty Service Members? Don’t forget to contact FVAP at help@fvap.gov. We can help locate many service member addresses. We will just need their names, date of birth, and social security number, if available. The U.S. Postal Service will be expediting absentee ballots to military and overseas voters. Check with your local postmaster for details on how you can get your ballots to these voters quickly.

Thank you for your continuing support of providing voting assistance to our men and women in uniform and overseas citizens.

Do You Need Direct Assistance: Contact our help desk featuring 24/7 telephone support at 800.438.8683 or e-mail us at vote@fvap.gov.

Follow FVAP on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook: www.facebook.com/DoDFVAP. Twitter: twitter.com/FVAP.

Thank you for your continuing support of providing voting assistance to our men and women in uniform and overseas citizens.

Additional information

We want your feedback! If you would like more information on the Federal Voting Assistance Program or need help with the absentee voting process, please contact FVAP at www.fvap.gov, 1-800-438-8683, DSN (312) 425-1584, or at vote@fvap.gov. Toll-free phone numbers from 67 countries are listed at: www.fvap.gov/contact/tollfreephone.html. With your feedback, we can make this even more helpful for the next election.