JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
No matter where they are at the time, even if only recently deployed or overseas, service members and their families want their vote to count when election time rolls around. If a member of the military hasn’t established residency in their new location, but is still a registered voter at their previous posting -- or if they are deployed and won’t be able to make it to the polls at home -- an absentee ballot gives every eligible voter the opportunity to participate in the most basic right U.S. citizens have.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program is a Department of Defense organization that works to ensure service members, their eligible family members, and overseas citizens are aware of their right to vote and have the tools and resources to successfully do so - from anywhere in the world.
As we are approaching another election cycle, including primaries currently underway in some states, FVAP has released a list of upcoming primaries or elections dates for all states within the next 90 days.
June – Complete, ongoing or imminent
5 - Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
12 - Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia
19 - Arkansas, District of Columbia
26 - Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah
July - 30 Day Notice
17 – Alabama, North Carolina 24 – Georgia
August - 60 Day Notice
2 – Tennessee
4 – Virgin Islands
7 – Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Washington 11 – Hawaii
14 – Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin 21 – Alaska, Wyoming
25 – Guam
28 – Arizona, Florida
September - 90 Day Notice
4 - Massachusetts
6 – Delaware
11 – New Hampshire
12 – Rhode Island
FVAP recommends that all military members and their eligible family members away from their voting jurisdiction, as well as U.S. citizens overseas, send in a Federal Post Card Application every year to ensure receipt of absentee ballots for all federal elections. Now is the time to update your mailing address and absentee ballot request information to reflect any changes since the last general election. Find the form at https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/fpca.pdf
To find your state's election website for specific information on candidates, elections, contact information, and links to your local election offices, visit FVAP's contact page -- https://www.fvap.gov/info/contact
FVAP has also released a new direct-to-voter training video which aims to increase overall awareness for active duty personnel on how to leverage its voting assistance resources for the 2018 primary and general election season.
The video serves as a step-by-step tutorial for absentee voting in the military, providing an overview of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) absentee voting process. Sections of the video include how to use a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to register and request an absentee ballot, what to anticipate with arrival of state ballots, and completing a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) if a requested ballot doesn't arrive.
For those looking to share this video, please visit https://www.fvap.gov/militaryhowto