Absentee Voting Simplified Through Voting Assistance Officers, FVAP.gov

SINGAPORE

01.24.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Fulton 

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific

Singapore – Throughout the 2018 election cycle United States citizens around the world, including members of the Singapore Area Coordinator (SAC) community, will partake in one of our nation's most revered traditions: electing our government.
The Navy has established two major sources of assistance to help ensure that all service members, DoD civilians, and eligible family members stationed overseas can exercise their right to cast an absentee ballot: Voting Assistance Officers and the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). While the shipboard duties of the Voting Assistance Officer have gone away, the Installation Voting Assistance Officer position remains to provide guidance on all matters related the voting process.
“My role as the Voting Assistance Officer is to provide all personnel with information concerning absentee voter registration, ballot requests, absentee ballot submission information, and deadlines,” said Lt. Andrew Harrell, SAC Voting Assistance Officer. “We also actively support voter awareness, promotions, and distribution of materials; in short, I'm here for anyone who needs assistance in voting matters, so please don't hesitate to ask.”
Service members, their dependents, and United States citizens residing outside of the United States are guaranteed their voting rights by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires that states and territories allow these citizens to register and vote absentee in elections for federal offices. Most states and territories have their own laws allowing citizens to register and vote absentee in state and local elections as well.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program administers the federal responsibilities of UOCAVA, ensuring that citizens have the knowledge and resources necessary to cast a successful ballot from anywhere in the world as easily as if they were at their local polling location.
“The main challenge in voting from Singapore is simply the postal delivery time; however most election offices have now accommodated absentee voters with the ability to submit their ballots via e-mail, given that they waive their certain rights associated with confidential ballots,” said Harrell. “With the approximate 4 week lead time you will need for delivery and return of voting materials it is important to register now so you don't have to worry about postal delivery time later.”
There are three steps all citizens living abroad need to follow to ensure they are registered to vote, receive an absentee ballot, and cast that ballot in the 2018 election cycle.
First, an overseas voter will need to complete and sign a Federal Post Card Application (FCPA) according to their state's instructions. Both the FCPA and a list of each state's requirements can be found at FVAP.gov. The FCPA will then be addressed and mailed to the voter’s local election official. Contact information for local election officials, including their mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses can be found at FVAP.gov as well.
After receiving the FCPA, the election official will review the application, verify it meets eligibility requirements, and send the applicant an absentee ballot.
The overseas voter then votes the ballot and sends it back to the official to be counted.
If an overseas voter fails to receive their absentee ballot thirty days prior to the election, they can still ensure their vote is received in time to be counted by submitting a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, obtainable from FVAP.gov.

For more information on the absentee voting process, visit FVAP.gov

• Date Taken: 01.24.2018
• Date Posted: 01.24.2018 23:32
• Story ID: 263158
• Location: SG