How to request your absentee ballot by the Aug. 1 deadline

With the sunny days of summer approaching, so too are absentee voting deadlines. Luckily, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) has everything voters stationed away from home need to register, request a ballot, and get their vote in. 

FVAP helps Americans vote wherever they are. It works to make sure service members, their eligible family members, and overseas citizens have the tools and resources to successfully vote from anywhere in the world. 

On a ship? On base? Recently PCS’d? No matter where you are, you can vote — but you’ve got to start planning now. Aug. 1, 2022 is the recommended absentee registration deadline for the Nov. 8, 2022 General Election. 

With FVAP, you can register to vote and request your ballot in one easy step by filling out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and sending it to your election office by August 1. Depending on your voting state, you may be able to mail, email or fax your FPCA to your election office. See your state’s guidelines, voting deadlines, election office’s contact information, and other helpful information at FVAP.gov. Don’t know your voting state? For military members, your voting residence is within your state of legal residence or domicile, and is the address that you consider your permanent home and where you had a physical presence. See more information about your voting residence here.

Once you’ve received your ballot, all you’ll have to do is fill it out and send it back as soon as possible in the month of October. The Federal Assistance Voting Program even has resources if your requested ballot doesn’t arrive in time. It’s a great site to get familiar with so you and your family can make your vote count. They’ve also got the option to sign up for regular email reminders so you don’t miss a single deadline.