Alert – VOTING INFORMATION FOR U.S. CITIZENS

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Location: Egypt

Event:  VOTING INFORMATION FOR U.S. CITIZENS

Voting is a constitutional right that American citizens eighteen years and older can freely exercise.  To obtain detailed information about the voting process and complete your Federal Post Card Application or your Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, please visit http://www.fvap.gov.

Now all U.S. citizens can receive their blank ballots electronically.  Depending on the state in which you are eligible to vote, you may get your ballot by email, fax, or internet download.  To start, go to www.fvap.gov to complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), print and sign the form, and then return it to your local election office in the United States.  Many states also allow Americans living overseas to submit their ballots electronically.  We recommend overseas U.S. citizens get in the habit of completing FPCAs each January.  You should include your email address on the form so it is easier for your election officials to reach you if there is a problem.  If your state delivers ballots by fax only, be sure to include your fax number.  If you request electronic delivery and include your email address or fax number, you will receive your blank ballot 45 days before general and mid-term elections and generally 30 days before special, primary, and run-off elections for federal offices.  Most states now have voter registration verification websites, and many offer a means of tracking the status of your registration and ballot.

Complete your ballot carefully and legibly and return it to your local election officials before your state’s ballot receipt deadline.  Send it back as early as possible.

Overseas voters have several options for returning voted ballots:

  • Local mail – If you have good mail service to the United States, put your ballot in the mail with appropriate international postage.
  • Fax, Email, or Internet – Many states now allow the electronic return of voted ballots. Consult the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s Voting Assistance Guide for electronic transmission options for your state.
  • U.S. Embassy – You can drop off your ballot request or voted ballot at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, or you can have someone drop it off for you.  A contact-free ballot drop box is located at the consular entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo (5 Tawfik Diab St). You can come to the Embassy on business days (Sunday-Thursday) between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and place your completed ballot in the drop box (it will be screened for security purposes first).  The ballot must be addressed to your local election officials and either have sufficient U.S. (domestic) postage, or be in a postage-paid envelope; a postage-paid envelope is available on the FVAP web site.  Each state has different deadlines for when absentee ballots must be postmarked and returned.  Voters who want their absentee ballots to reach the United States before the General Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, should plan to submit their absentee ballots to the embassy drop box no later than October 2, 2020.  However, the Embassy will still accept all absentee ballots after that deadline has passed, and at least until Election Day on November 3.
  • Express Courier Service – If time is short or local mail is unreliable, you can use private courier services such as FedEx, DHL, or UPS.  NOTE: FedEx does not deliver to P.O. boxes.

 If you followed all the right steps but still have not received your ballot 30 days before the election, you should complete and submit a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB).  For more information, visit FVAP.gov to complete the FWAB using their online wizard.  Write in the candidates of your choice, print it, sign it and send it to your local election officials.  If your regular absentee ballot arrives later, fill it out and send it back too.  Your FWAB will be counted only if your regular ballot does not reach your local election officials by your state’s deadline. Following this procedure will not invalidate your vote or result in two votes being cast.

For more information, you can consult the Voting Assistance Guide on-line at https://www.fvap.gov/vao/vag or contact our voting team at the Embassy by email at consularcairoacs@state.gov.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo encourages U.S. citizens seeking COVID-19 medical information to reference the Government of Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population’s social media accounts at https://www.facebook.com/egypt.mohp/ (Arabic only).  The Government of Egypt has also provided a COVID-19 dedicated hotline at 105 15335 or 15469 for additional inquiries (Arabic proficiency recommended).

The Embassy reminds U.S. citizens in Egypt to adhere to local measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

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Assistance:

By | 10 September, 2020 | Topics: Alert

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