New York Military and Overseas Voters Get Your Ballot Online Today

Return deadline extended

New York military and overseas registered voters now have more time to return their ballots, and, if they have not received an absentee ballot from the State, they can access their ballot online through a new New York website , or through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website (www.FVAP.gov). Military ballots are full ballots with all federal, state and local races. Ballots for overseas voters include federal offices. Both types of ballots can be downloaded directly using this automated tool.

The deadline extension for ballot delivery is the result of actions taken by the Department of Justice and an agreement reached with the state of New York. At least 13 New York counties (including all five boroughs of New York City) sent out ballots late. The Department of Justice and the State of New York reached an agreement to extend the deadline for the return of voted ballots for military and overseas voters until November 24, 2010 for the November 2, 2010 election. Ballots must be postmarked by November 1, 2010 (or witnessed as having been voted by November 1st) if postmarking is unavailable.

Receive Your Ballot

If you are already registered, you can access your ballot online at https://www.secureballotusa.com/diaspora_ny/NY_login.action . Or visit www.FVAP.gov to access the NY link.

Request Your Ballot

If you are already registered you can still request your absentee ballot. Applications must be received by your local board of elections by October 26, so email or fax the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) TODAY. Request to receive your ballot by email or fax to ensure that you receive the ballot.

Automated ballot request assistants are available both at the New York State Board of Elections website (newyork.overseasvotefoundation.org ) and the Federal Voting Assistance Program website (www.fvap.gov/registration/reg-ballot-request-ny.html), where complete return instructions and all contact information are provided.

Use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB)

If you are unable to access your State ballot electronically use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to vote for federal, state and local offices and non-candidate ballot issues. You can access the FWAB online at www.FVAP.gov . Our automated assistant makes it easy to complete the form and will provide the federal candidates along with instructions on returning it to your local election official. FWABs are also available from your unit or installation voting assistance officer and at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.

Voting Your Ballot

No witness or notary is required on voted ballots, however, if no postmark is available, the voted ballot’s mailing envelope may be witnessed to indicate that the ballot was mailed no later than the day before the election (November 1, 2010).

For overseas military voters, free Express Mail ballot return is available through military post offices or unit mail clerks. Use the DoD-11 form, which will also provide a tracking number for online tracking of the mail progress of your voted ballot.

Tracking Your Ballot

You can also find out when your ballot was received by your local board of elections by using New York’s online tracking system: https://www.secureballotusa.com/diaspora_ny/NY_login.action.

We Want Your Feedback! If this document was helpful to you or if you ran into problems or have questions, please contact FVAP at 1-800-438-8683, DSN (312) 425-1584, or at vote@fvap.gov. With your feedback, we can make this even more helpful for the next election.