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Time running out to vote absentee

It’s getting to be prime time for service members and families who are stationed overseas and who want to vote in the Nov. 4 election for president, congressional seats and state and local offices.

Members of the U.S. military community overseas should register as soon as possible to vote by absentee ballot if they haven’t already, say officials at the Military Postal Service Agency.

State-by-state guide

MPSA is the military extension of the U.S. Postal Service, operating more than 420 post offices overseas and aboard Navy ships.

For service members deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations in the war zones, the MPSA will play a key role in getting their votes to stateside polling centers so they can be counted in the upcoming election.

The campaign is a major undertaking, said Faye Johnson, the agency’s operations chief. For the 2004 election, MPSA moved 110,000 ballots.

Troops can register by filling out a Federal Post Card Application (Standard Form 76), available from unit voting assistance officers.

The voting assistance officers have all the information needed to properly fill out the applications to comply with state voting regulations, which vary from state to state, Johnson said.

Some states allow ballots to be submitted electronically. Service members should contact their unit voting assistance officers for details.

Soldiers who do not receive a ballot from their state at least five weeks before the election have the option of using the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (Standard Form 186A) to vote in the presidential election and in some other elections.

States that accept that ballot for the presidential and general elections are Maryland, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, Washington and Rhode Island.

The write-in ballot is a valuable option for service members from 25 states that are holding late primaries, Johnson said.

Some states require that absentee voters who use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot complete and mail the state ballot when it comes, even if the votes cast on that document will not be counted.

Johnson said it is particularly important for troops who have voted absentee before, and who are registered, to make sure their current mailing address, or the address they will be using at the time they plan on voting, is on record with the state voting office.

The Federal Post Card Application should be used to update an address, Johnson said.

Service members also should be aware that most states and territories will accept ballots postmarked the day of the election (Nov. 4), but some require postmarks no later than Nov. 3. Those states are Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Johnson noted that North Carolina also requires that ballots be returned to the service member’s polling place by 5 p.m. Nov. 3; it is the only state with a deadline before the election.

More information is available on the MPSA Web site or by contacting unit voting assistance officers, who are usually junior officers or senior noncommissioned officers assigned the responsibility as an extra duty.

Your voting questions answered

This information was provided by the Military Postal Service Agency.

Q. How do I vote by mail if I am deployed or stationed overseas?

A. Complete the Federal Post Card Application (Standard Form 76). For details, contact your unit voting assistance officer.

Service members in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones should mail their Federal Postcard Application no later than Aug. 7. Soldiers in other overseas locations should mail the application on or before Aug. 14.

Q. What if I still don’t have a ballot from my state?

A. Contact your unit voting assistance officer and request a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot.

Service members in the war zone should request a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot if they have not received their state ballot by Sept. 30. Service members in other overseas locations should request a federal write-in ballot if they have not received their state ballot by Oct. 7.

Q. When should I mail my ballot?

A. Service members in the war zone should mail their state absentee and federal write-in ballots no later than Oct. 7. Service members in other overseas locations should mail no later than Oct. 14.

Q. If I miss the mailing deadlines, what are my options?

A. Service members and dependents overseas can purchase U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Service for $16.50 or USPS Delivery Confirmation Service for $5.55 from military and diplomatic post offices.

The express mail service speeds delivery of voting materials from the USPS international gateway to state election offices within one to two days. The delivery confirmation service will provide delivery of absentee ballots from the international gateways to state election offices within three to four days.

Q. I have more questions. Whom should I contact?

A. Your unit voting assistance officer. For mail-specific questions, contact your APO or FPO representative.