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Pennsylvania Allows Express Mailing of Ballots, Participating in Online Voting Project, and Allows New Electronic Alternatives

Recent Pennsylvania state policy allows the following:

• Express and overnight mail from all uniformed and overseas citizens
• Send the FPCA for registration and absentee ballot by fax. After faxing, submit the FPCA by mail. The original FPCA must be received prior to the election (by November 3, 2008) by the county election office in order for the ballot to count.
• If you are in a designated hostile fire, imminent danger pay, combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area, you may receive the blank ballot by fax. If you receive the blank ballot by fax, you may use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot return envelope and security envelope on the FVAP’s website www.fvap.gov to return your ballot in secret so it will be counted.

In addition, Pennsylvania has 36 counties participating in the FVAP online voting project, including Philadelphia and Allegheny. To see all counties participating, visit the Pennsylvania state page on the FVAP website www.fvap.gov. Currently, the application guides voters through completion of the Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request Form (Federal Post Card Application, FPCA, SF 76) according to the specific requirements of Pennsylvania. Additionally, if a county chooses to participate, voters from that county will also be able to submit the completed and signed Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request Form online. Some of the participating counties will also permit voters to receive their blank ballot from the local election official via the secure server.

Please Note: This application is not intended for the submission of voted ballots. For technical assistance, please contact the Help Desk at 1-866-934-3997 or send an email to FPCA-Help-Desk@csc.com. Additional information on elections in Pennsylvania can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of State’s educational website www.votespa.com.

Questions regarding this news release may also be referred to the Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington DC 20301-1155. Additionally, the FVAP can be reached via email at vote@fvap.ncr.gov. Visit the FVAP website at www.fvap.gov.