Embassy of the United States

Under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), U.S. citizens 18 years and older, traveling or residing overseas during an election period, are eligible to vote in elections for Federal office (President and Vice President, Senator and Representative).

Registration and voting procedures are matters of state law.  If you have not otherwise established a residence within one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory or commonwealth, your residence is the state where you resided immediately prior to departing the U.S.  If you never resided in the U.S., you may register and vote in the last state that your parents, or grandparents, resided in before your birth.  But you will need to qualify as a resident under state law in order to vote in state and local (as opposed to federal) elections.

Election, voter registration and absentee ballot information is available from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP).  The website includes a helpful tool that will guide you through the process of registering and requesting an absentee ballot.  You may also get information via FVAP's toll-free telephone number: 1-800-438-VOTE (8683).  You may also contact the ACS Unit at KLACS@state.gov.

Some states require that your registration application or ballot request be notarized.  Details can be found on the FVAP site.  We can notarize voting materials for you free of charge, but you will have to come to the Consular Section in person with the completed application and appropriate identification (passport or other U.S.-issued photo ID).  We can also mail voting materials for private Americans as long adequate U.S. postage is affixed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Announcement:

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (PDF 35kb)

Voting Overseas - What you need to know (PDF 53kb)