[News Boquete] Message for U.S. Citizens: Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots

U.S. Embassy Panama City, Panama

Message for U.S. Citizens

Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots

21 October 2014

Embassies and consulates are not polling places.  The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 4.  U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2014 U.S. elections should already have returned their absentee ballots to their local election officials.  U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States.

 

Never received your ballot?  If you have registered to vote and requested your absentee ballot prior to your state's registration and absentee ballot request deadlines but have not yet received your ballot, should immediately complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state's deadline.  If your regular ballot arrives later, go ahead and complete and return it as well.  Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state's deadline.  Your vote will not be counted twice.

 

Ballot not yet sent to local election officials?  If you wish to participate in this election and have not yet sent your ballot to your local election official, you should consider returning your ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL.  Some states or counties may allow you to return your voted ballot electronically.  Ballots sent to local election officials via express courier service do not receive standard postmarks, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 4 prior to payment and shipment.  Check your state's voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.

 

Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax.  If you have previously registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot but it has not yet arrived the following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials:  Arizona, California (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii (fax only), Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (paper copy must also be mailed), Nevada, New Jersey (paper copy must also be mailed), New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon (paper copy must also be mailed), South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia.  Check your state's voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.

 

Returning your ballot by mail.  Ballots sent via regular international mail at this late date are unlikely to reach local election officials by state ballot receipt deadlines.  If you still wish to send your voted ballot via mail, place your voted ballot in a U.S. postage-paid envelope addressed to your local election officials.  Drop it off at the Embassy and we'll send it back home for you without the need to pay international postage.  If you can't visit the Embassy in person, ask a friend or colleague drop it off for you.  If it's easier for you to use Panama's postal system, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for international mail delivery. 

 

You can also visit our Embassy Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) directly, which is located in our Embassy compound.  If you decide to bring your ballot directly to our DPO, Monday through Thursday from 9:00AM – 1:00PM, 3:00PM - 5:00PM and Fridays from 8:30AM – 12:00PM.  Someone from the Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Unit (DPMU) will accept the ballot.  We dispatch those ballots daily to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in Miami, FL.  Mail bags are received by the Sort Facility in Miami the same day.  The average transit time for mail from this Post Office to a stateside address is 6 days.

 

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING.  Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting.  Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot.  Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.

 

Need help?  You can get in-person assistance from our Embassy Voting Assistance Officer by visiting the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit, U.S. Embassy located in Clayton, Building #783, Demetrio Basilio Lakas Ave., next to "Colego Las Esclavas," during the following hours: Monday – Thursday from 8:00AM to 12:00PM; Friday from 8:00AM – 10:00AM.  The ACS unit is closed for Panamanian and United States Holidays.

 

Have Questions?  Please contact Panama's Voting Assistance Officer at 317-5000, or at votepanama@state.gov . 

 

Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online.

 

Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.

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