Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away! The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 8. U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2016 U.S. elections should already have returned their absentee ballots to their local election officials. The American Institute in Taiwan is not a polling place; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States.
Never received your ballot? If you have registered to vote and requested your absentee ballot prior to your state’s registration and absentee ballot request deadlines, but have not yet received your ballot, complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state’s deadline. If your regular ballot arrives later, go ahead and complete and return it as well. Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state’s deadline. Your vote will not be counted twice.
RETURNING YOUR BALLOT:
The final date to return your paper ballot to your local election officials by election day for free via AIT is October 20, 2016. If you wish to send your voted ballot via mail, place your voted ballot in a U.S. postage-paid envelope addressed to your local election officials. Drop it off at AIT Monday thru Friday 8:15 to 11 am and we’ll send it back home for you without the need to pay international postage. If you can’t visit AIT in person, ask a friend or colleague drop it off for you. They must be in either postage paid return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage and must also be addressed to the relevant local election officials.
Missed the AIT shipment deadline? Consider returning your ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or electronically if allowed by your states. Ballots sent to local election officials via express courier service do not receive standard postmarks, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 8 prior to payment and shipment. Check your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.
Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax. If you have previously registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot but it has not yet arrived, the following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials: Alaska (fax only), Arizona (contact election official first), Arkansas (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida (fax only), Hawaii (fax only), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana (fax only), Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (fax only paper copy must also be mailed), Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma (fax only), Oregon (paper copy must also be mailed), Rhode Island (fax only), South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Review your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov carefully for guidance.
Returning your ballot by international mail delivery. If using Taiwan’s postal system, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for intentional mail delivery.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING. Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting. Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot. Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.
Have Questions? Please contact AIT’s Voting Assistance Officer at VoteTaipei@state.gov. You can also contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program directly if you encounter issues with local election officials by emailing Vote@FVAP.gov or toll free by phone from many countries around the world.
Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.
