Voting

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Registering to Vote and submitting a ballot is fast, easy, and can be done from anywhere in the world!

Start by confirming your voter registration with your state. Some states require absentee voters to register annually, so you may need to re-register.  Go to FVAP.gov to connect to your state’s voter portal to register to vote, request a ballot, and more.  Once you confirm your registration, follow a few simple steps to vote in the 2022 U.S. elections:

  1.  Request Your Ballot: Most states provide the option to request ballots through their state election portals, which you can easily access viaFVAP.gov. You can also choose to complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The completion of the FPCA allows you to request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives) including primaries and special elections during the calendar year in which it is submitted. FPCA forms that are correctly filled out and include a signature and date are accepted by all local election officials in every U.S. state and territory. FVAP’s easy online assistant can assist you with completing the FPCA.
    Whether you request your ballot through your state’s portal or the FPCA, we encourage you to select the option for receiving your ballot electronically (by email, internet download, or fax) when available. This is the fastest way for you to get your ballot and ensures you have it in time to return a completed form before your state’s deadline.
  1.  Receive and Complete Your Ballot:  States are required to send out ballots 45 days before a regular election for federal office, and states generally send out ballots at least 30 days before primary elections. Most states allow you to confirm your ballot delivery online.
  1.  Return Your Completed, Signed Ballot:  Some states allow you to return your completed ballot electronically and others do not. If your state requires you to return paper voting forms or ballots to local election officials by mail, you can do so through international mail or professional courier service. AIT can also send it for you if you follow these instructions:
  • Placeyour ballot requests or voted ballots in “postage paid” return envelopes (click here to create envelope)  or in envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage, and address them to the relevant local election officials. Drop the envelopes off at AIT’s American Citizen Services Unit every Thursday from 2 to 3 pm, and we will send it back home for you without the need to pay international postage.
  • You can also drop off your FPCA or voted ballot in person: at AIT Taipei, you may use the Absentee Ballot Box placed inside AIT’s consular entrance on Jinhu Road, from 8am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. At the AIT Kaohsiung branch office, you may use the Absentee Ballot Box on the 5th floor of the China Steel Building on 88 Chenggong Second Road, from 9am to 4pm, Monday through Friday.
  • If you can’t visit AIT in person, you can mail the “postage paid” return envelopes (click here to create envelope ) or envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage that are addressed to local election officials and contain your ballot request or voted ballot to “American Citizen Services Unit, American Institute in Taiwan, 100 Jinhu Road, Neihu Dist., Taipei, 11461”. Please note that AIT will not confirm receipt. It takes approximately three weeks for voting materials to reach local election officials. Please plan accordingly.

Researching the Candidates and Issues:  Online Resources. Go to the FVAP links page for helpful resources to aid your research of candidates and issues. Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues is widely available and easy to obtain online. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, or search the internet to locate articles and information. For information about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP’s Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook (@DODFVAP), Twitter (@FVAP), and Instagram (@fvapgov).

Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website, FVAP.gov. If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact AIT’s Voting Assistance Officer at VoteTaipei@state.gov.

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) allows certain U.S. citizens to vote in absent, including members of the U.S. Uniformed Services on active duty and their family members while away from their place of voting residence, wherever stationed, within or outside the United States.

The UOCAVA also applies to U.S. citizens residing outside the United States and its territories. These citizens may vote in the state or territory where they last resided immediately prior to departing the United States, even if many years have elapsed and the citizen maintains no residence in the state or territory and the intent to return to that state or territory may not be certain. Most states and territories permit these citizens to vote in elections for Federal offices only, although some states may send a ballot containing local, state and Federal offices.

Note that the UOCAVA provides that voting for Federal offices shall not affect the determination of the voter’s place of residence for purpose of any tax imposed under Federal, state or local law. Liability for state income tax, however, may be incurred in some states by voting absentee in state or local elections. To assess the probability of incurring state taxes on income earned outside the United States, you may wish to consult legal counsel for details.

For more information on Overseas Voting, please visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s website.

To vote absentee, U.S. citizens living outside the United States must be registered to vote and must request an absentee ballot. In order to register to vote and/or to request an absentee ballot, an eligible U.S. citizen must accurately complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) (PDF-320.5KB) and submit it to the voting officials in your “legal state of residence” in the United States.

The “legal state of residence” is the state in which you could vote if you were present in that state. The rules for determining that state depend on your status overseas.

  • Military and Merchant Marine members, and their spouses and dependents, may register to vote in the domicile (state) that the member claims as his or her residence.
  • Civilian U.S. Government employees overseas, and their spouses and dependents, generally register in the state they claim as their legal residence.
  • Overseas citizens (not affiliated with the U.S. Government) must vote in their last state of residence immediately prior to departure from the United States. This rule applies even though you may not have property or other ties in your last state of residence and your intent to return to that state may be uncertain.
  • American citizens who have never resided in the United States should apply to the state where their American citizen parent(s) last resided, although they should be aware that not all states will grant such a request. Please refer to the state instructions.

For more information on your state’s requirements and to register to vote and/or to request an absentee ballot, please visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s website.  These websites’ on-line step-by-step instructions will guide you through in completing your request depending on your overseas status and your legal state of residence requirements.

If you have any questions or would like to request a hard copy of the FPCA (PDF-320.5KB), you may contact the American Institute in Taiwan by email at VoteTaipei@state.gov.

Please note that the deadline for submitting the FPCA (PDF-320.5KB)  may vary from state to state.  In order to ensure timely delivery of the election ballot to you, every non-registered citizen is urged to submit the FPCA at least 60 days prior to the election; registered citizens are urged to submit the FPCA at least 45 days before the election.

  • You send in a completed FPCA to your local election officials
  • They confirm your eligibility to vote, and put your name on a list to receive absentee ballots
  • They send you a blank absentee ballot by mail or make it available electronically
  • You complete the ballot and send it back before the ballot receipt deadline
  • If your ballot fails to arrive, use the emergency federal write-in ballot to vote

If you are 30 days before the election and you still have not received your ballot, you should complete and submit a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). (PDF-347KB)

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