All posts tagged FWAB

McCain and Obama Seek Expat Israel Votes

by waybeyondthebeltway on October 18, 2008 in Americans Abroad with 1 Comment

Bloomberg.com reports that the McCain and Obama campaigns’ battle for Florida has opened a front in Israel.

According to Overseas Vote Foundation (“OVF”), voter participation has grown in Israel and American citizens living there are really engaged in this election. Supporters of both candidates are attempting to win the votes of the estimated 120,000 American citizens in Israel that are eligible to vote, with a particular emphasis being placed on voters from swing states, especially Florida.

There’s still time to get your ballot in. If you are registered but haven’t received a ballot, use OVF’s “Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot” tool and return it to your state using the Express Your Vote ballot return program which is underway now. The program is provided by Overseas Vote Foundation and supported by FedEx in 89 countries. It was well researched with all states prior to launch, and voters can see on the front page www.overseasvotefoundation.org/expressyourvote the list of states that are participating is extensive. (The only state that does not accept express mail ballots is Alabama.)

With Express Your Vote, voters are instructed to staple one copy of the Air Waybill to the ballot envelope – it functions as the postmark. This is known and accepted by all participating states. The program offers highly-discounted rates from Canada, Latin American, Europe and the Middle East. Free shipping is available from 14 Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

These services at these rates, including in many countries, at-your-doorstep-pick-up are not usually available to individuals overseas.

Voters can track their ballots through Express Your Vote and will receive an automatic confirmation of delivery.

Please note: It is very important that all overseas Americans groups support and communicate about Express Your Vote to their member voters. Interest and use of the program will send a very strong message to all express courier companies that this is a good thing to do – to support U.S. overseas voters! Lack of use will send the message that is not needed or appreciated and will affect future willingness on the part of FedEx and other courier companies to invest in similar actions in future elections.

OverseasVote Channel

by waybeyondthebeltway on October 9, 2008 in Americans Abroad with No comments

Overseas Vote Foundation (“OVF”), the organization at the cutting-edge of absentee voting issues for Americans abroad now has a YouTube channel — the OverseasVote Channel — with dozens of videos on voting from overseas.

This is in addition to the revolutionary and simple to use OVF voter registration wizard, and the recently announced Express Your Vote program with FedEx that allows Americans abroad to send their ballots via FedEx for free or at steep discounts, and the new online Vote-Print-Mail Ballot System that allows voters to complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) more easily and with fewer errors.

Voting: Electronic Options

by waybeyondthebeltway on October 9, 2008 in Americans Abroad with No comments

Below is a list of all states that permit electronic transmission of the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), blank ballots, and voted ballots. The list was compiled using lists available from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (“FVAP”) and the Voting Assistance Guide (“VAG”). However, state requirements change frequently so please use the list as a guideline, but if in doubt, refer to the VAG online.

If you fax or e-mail voting materials, you should use the electronic transmission cover sheet available at http://www.fvap.gov/resources/media/coversheet.pdf. It should be noted though, that voters electing to fax or e-mail their completed ballots must waive their right to a secret ballot.

In addition, toll-free international phone and fax numbers are available at http://www.fvap.gov/contact/index.html. Please report any non-working numbers to votinginfo@state.gov, and include the date and time you tried the number.

Electronic Transmission Options by State

Check the online Voting Assistance Guide for the latest requirements.

State	Accepts FPCA by fax for registration and ballot request	Accepts FPCA by e-mail for registration and ballot request	Sends blank ballot by fax	Sends blank ballot by e-mail	Accepts voted ballot by fax	Accepts voted ballot by e-mail
Alabama	No	No	No	No	No	No
Alaska	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
American Samoa	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Arizona	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Arkansas	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
California	Yes	No	Some counties	No	No	No
Colorado	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Delaware	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	Military only	Yes	Military only	Yes
Florida	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Georgia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Guam	No	No	No	No	No	No
Hawaii	Yes	No	If ballot not received 5 days before election	No	If received blank ballot by fax	No
Idaho	Yes	No	Emergencies only	No	No	No
Illinois	Chicago and Cook counties only	Chicago and Cook counties only	No	Yes	No	No
Indiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Iowa	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Kansas	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kentucky	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Louisiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Maine	Yes	No	Military; emergencies only	No	Military; emergencies only	No
Maryland	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	Yes	Yes	No	No
Massachusetts	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Michigan	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Minnesota	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mississippi	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Missouri	Some counties	Yes – ballot request only	No	No	No	Yes
Montana	Yes	Yes	Some counties	Yes	Some counties	Yes
Nebraska	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Nevada	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
New Hampshire	No	No	No	No	No	No
New Jersey	Yes	No	Federal ballot only	No	Yes; must mail original	No
New Mexico	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
New York	No	No	No	No	No	No
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	Military, DOD civilians and Peace Corps only	No	Military, DOD civilians and Peace Corps only	No
North Dakota	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ohio	Military only	No	Military only	No	No	No
Oklahoma	Yes – ballot request only	No	Emergencies only	No	Emergencies only	No
Oregon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes – ballot request only	Combat zone and declared emergencies	No	No	No
Puerto Rico	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	No	No	No	No
Rhode Island	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	Declared emergencies only	Yes	Declared emergencies only	Yes
South Dakota	Yes – ballot request only	Yes – ballot request only	No	No	No	No
Tennessee	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Texas	Yes	No	No	No	Combat zones only	No
Utah	No	No	Some counties; some emergencies	No	Some counties; some emergencies	No
Vermont	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Virgin Islands	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Virginia	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Washington	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some counties	No
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes – ballot request only	Yes	Yes	No	No
Wyoming	No	No	No	No	No	No

All posts tagged FWAB

McCain and Obama Seek Expat Israel Votes

OverseasVote Channel

Voting: Electronic Options

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