Register to Vote and Request Absentee Ballot for U.S. General Election

Overseas Vote Foundation

If you are a U.S. citizen living outside the U.S. either temporarily or indefinitely, please click here to register to vote and request your absentee ballot for the U.S. General Election on Tuesday, November 7, 2006: Overseas Vote Foundation.

Overseas Civilian Citizens

The following general guidelines are for citizens residing outside the United States, who are not active duty military or their family members, in determining their state of legal residence for voting purposes.

“Legal state of residence” for voting purposes is the state where you last resided immediately prior to your departure from the United States. This right extends to overseas citizens even though they may no longer own property or have other ties to their last state of residence and their intent to return to that state may be uncertain.

Eligibility to vote and residency requirement is determined by the state. Your right to vote in your state and determination of voting precinct depend on your physical residence while you were in the state.

Only 17 states, to date, provide exemption to the physical presence law for UOCAVA citizens overseas. These states allow eligible U.S. citizens who have never resided in the U.S. to register and vote where a parent would be eligible to vote. See the 2006-2007 Voting Assistance Guide.

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986 provides that exercising the right to vote in elections for Federal offices under the Act should not affect for purposes of any Federal, state or local tax, the residence or domicile of a person exercising such right.

Voting for Federal offices only may not be used as the sole basis to determine residency for the purposes of imposing state and local taxes. If you claim a particular state as your residence and have other ties with that state in addition to voting, then you may be liable for state and local taxation, depending upon that particular state law. Consult your legal counsel or tax adviser with specific questions.

Voting Assistance Officers at Embassies and Consulates will assist overseas U.S. citizens in obtaining and completing Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) requests for registration and absentee ballot; witnessing or notarizing FPCA forms (if required); and, providing other absentee voting information as needed. Embassy/Consulate locations serve also as postage-free mailing points for FPCA forms and other election materials to be mailed back to your local voting jurisdiction in the U.S. where absentee registration and ballot requests are actually processed.

Organizations of American citizens overseas such as Democrats Abroad, Republicans Abroad, etc. and overseas corporations have the voting materials necessary to assist citizens in requesting registration and ballot.

If you have further questions that cannot be answered locally, please contact the FVAP directly.

Background Sources on State of Legal Residence for Voting Purposes

During the course of an election year, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) receives numerous queries from citizens voting under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)* regarding their state of residence for voting purposes. While the issue of voting residency can be complex, the following are general guidelines for overseas civilian citizens to determine their state of legal residence for voting purposes.