Hi all,
If you’re a US citizen and have just moved to Taiwan, you may be unsure of how to vote in US elections. Or maybe you’ve been here a long time but never voted. Either way, there’s an easy way to participate this year. Just go to
Follow the steps to request your ballot and start voting!
The site is totally non-partisan in function (every US citizen can use it to request their ballot).
This looks suspicious…
Suspicious?
I’m just surprised how many Americans I meet all the time that have the misconception that voting from abroad is difficult, time-consuming, or will somehow increase the chances that the IRS will come after you if you haven’t been filing every year, all untrue. In many cases, depending on the state where you were last a resident, you can request you ballot, then cast that ballot all via email. This site just makes verifying the rules in each voter’s state clear and simple.
Edited: Sorry. Posted in the wrong thread.
Suspicious?
I’m just surprised how many Americans I meet all the time that have the misconception that voting from abroad is difficult, time-consuming, or will somehow increase the chances that the IRS will come after you if you haven’t been filing every year, all untrue. In many cases, depending on the state where you were last a resident, you can request you ballot, then cast that ballot all via email. This site just makes verifying the rules in each voter’s state clear and simple.[/quote]
Just not an official government website (no .gov) so it feels kind of weird giving them off of your information. I’m not american though. But if you can vouch for it that would be great for those who wish they could stay voting overseas.
Sure. There is a government alternative (FVAP.Gov), but honestly its not as easy to use. Votefromabroad.org does have a pretty sound looking privacy policy, but everyone has to decide for themselves how much info to provide to any website, government or not.
I registered as permanent absentee before I moved here from California. Ballots come like clockwork.
Last time I was at AIT, there were signs all over the place that looked like they could help register.
[quote=“CraigTPE”]I registered as permanent absentee before I moved here from California. Ballots come like clockwork.
Last time I was at AIT, there were signs all over the place that looked like they could help register.[/quote]
How do you register as a permanent absentee?
I am getting jury summons in the mail back home.
And although I called to tell them I am living abroad, I can’t trust the clerks at the court house to remove my name permanently.
[quote=“PapaAzucar”]How do you register as a permanent absentee?
I am getting jury summons in the mail back home.
And although I called to tell them I am living abroad, I can’t trust the clerks at the court house to remove my name permanently.[/quote]
I suppose it depends on what state you are from. I went to the City Hall in San Francisco and just filled out the form.
In CA, jury summons come from driving records, not voter registration (AFAIK). I used to get them all the time. There would always be several on my stack of mail when I visited home. It took two or three times of mailing them proof that I was living overseas to get them to stop. I can’t imagine any of them taking your word over the phone.
CraigTPE, You’re completely right that it depends on what state, and even what district you vote in. I’ve heard lots of folks say over the years that they get their ballots like clockwork after registering as a permanent absentee voter, or not even going that far. HOWEVER, the MOVE act of 2009 or 2010 changes all this, if I’m not mistaken. Federal law now mandates that voters request their ballots every election cycle.
See this link https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/node/282
The law does a lot to strengthen overseas citizens’ and military voters. This particular part of it may seem like an increased burden at first glance, but from my point of view, it’s a step in the right direction in that it attempts to standardize at least one aspect of the voting process across different voting districts.
You may continue to get your ballot every year without requesting it, but I always recommend to my fiends that they do it anyway. Votefromabroad.org makes this super easy. FVAP.gov also works.
It’s not – I’ve used it to vote from Shanghai a couple of times (only in the presidential races).
It’s not non-partisan though. This website is affiliated with the Democratic party, and if you register to vote through it you are offered the opportunity to join Democrats Abroad (but not the equivalent for any other party).
Just got my vote registration form from VoteFromAbroad.org - a couple of quick thoughts:
Now I gotta go read up a little about the local election in my home district
I watched both conventions and watched with amusement the Democrats Abroad delegation at the Democratic Convention as each state/overseas territory gave an overview of their state during the roll call. They were dressed worse that 1970s East German Stasi agents, they were long-winded, and they kept blathering on about Obama repairing America’s image in the world. 
I wondered what percentage were ESL 
A [half] Black man repairing America’s image in a world where a Black man can’t even teach English? No, don’t think so.
Took a closer look at the Electronic Submission Sheet (the cover page) of the ballot that was generated. For my state, electronic submission is accepted. What’s neat is that the fax number is a Taiwan 0080 toll-free number. CooOOool!
Awesome, Goose egg. Now that I think about it, voting from abroad probably takes less time for me than it did when I had to drive into the polling place back home in North Carolina. Really no excuse not to vote. Glad the site was helpful.
Be careful – I recall that even if you fax it in you have to mail in an original signed copy. The fax is just to allow you to get the ballot faster. But in case of a recount your vote may be invalidated if you don’t send in a physical copy.