Voting from the military or overseas
The short answer
Use the Federal Post Card Application to register and request an absentee ballot in one step, file it early in the year, and use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot as a backup if your official ballot does not arrive in time.
Go straight to the official source
Official source
Start at the Federal Voting Assistance Program
Official program for service members, their families, and citizens living abroad.
Start at the Federal Voting Assistance Program
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Official source
Open the FVAP voter start page
Step-by-step federal instructions for absentee registration and ballot requests.
Open the FVAP voter start page
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Official source
Open the official FVAP forms page
Official Federal Post Card Application and Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot forms.
Open the official FVAP forms page
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Who is covered
- Uniformed service members on active duty, including those stationed inside the United States away from their voting residence.
- Eligible family members of those service members.
- United States citizens living outside the country, whether or not they intend to return.
Your voting residence is generally the last place you lived in the United States before leaving, even if you no longer have a residence there. Rules for citizens who have never lived in the United States differ by state.
The Federal Post Card Application
The Federal Post Card Application registers you and requests an absentee ballot at the same time. File it at the start of each calendar year in which you want to vote, and file again if your address changes. Submit it through the method your state accepts, which the Federal Voting Assistance Program lists state by state.
The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot
If you requested a ballot in time and it has not arrived, the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot is the backup. You can write in candidates or party preferences for federal contests. If your official ballot arrives later, complete and return it as well. Election officials count only one, and the rules for which one are set by the state.
Timing
Work backward from the election. File the application early in the year, watch for delivery, and if the ballot has not arrived roughly a month before the election, use the backup ballot while continuing to wait for the official one. International mail can take weeks in each direction.
Territories
If you live in a United States territory, your situation is different from an overseas voter and it depends on your residency history. Presidential voting eligibility, congressional representation, and local election rules differ between the territories and the states. Use the official territory election authority listed in our states and territories directory, and the federal eligibility guidance published by USAGov.
Questions worth asking
- Does my state accept the application by email, by fax, by mail, or through an online portal?
- How will my blank ballot be delivered, and can I receive it electronically?
- What is the accepted return method and the return deadline for my state?
- Does my state count a backup write-in ballot if the official ballot arrives afterward?
What the official record shows
One federal law, fifty-six sets of state details
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act guarantees absentee voting in federal elections for service members, their eligible family members, and citizens residing outside the United States. Each state still decides how it processes the application, how it delivers the ballot, and how it accepts the return.
The forty-five day rule
Under the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, states must send requested absentee ballots to covered voters at least forty-five days before a federal election when the request arrives in time. That is why filing early matters more than any other step.
Our perspective
Distance should not decide whether a vote counts
Voters who move for service, or who live abroad, depend on mail systems and transit times they do not control. Electronic delivery of blank ballots, generous transit windows, and clear tracking are the practical fixes that keep those ballots in the count.
This panel states what we believe. It is labeled, it is separate from the record above, and it never changes the voting instructions on this site.
The strongest argument against our view
Some officials caution against electronic return of voted ballots on security grounds, and that concern is taken seriously by election security experts. Electronic delivery of a blank ballot and secure return methods are separate questions, and states have reached different conclusions about each.
What remains uncertain
Return methods for covered voters vary, and some states allow options that others prohibit. Confirm the accepted return method with your state rather than assuming a federal rule covers it.
Sources
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Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense
Federal Voting Assistance Program
Official program for service members, their families, and citizens living abroad.
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Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense
Step-by-step federal instructions for absentee registration and ballot requests.
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Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense
Federal Post Card Application and Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot
Official Federal Post Card Application and Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot forms.
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United States Election Assistance Commission
Military and overseas voting under UOCAVA
Federal explanation of the law that protects military and overseas voters.
Change history
This page has not been substantively changed since it was published on August 29, 2026.
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