Voting is a fundamental right for all citizens, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) ensures that those who are active members of the Uniformed Services, the Merchant Marine, the Public Health Service commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, their eligible family members and other United States citizens residing outside the United States can exercise their right to vote. The Federal Standard Form 18 (FWAB) serves as an emergency backup ballot for UOCAVA citizens who don't receive their absentee ballot from their state in time to return it to their election official. A primary election is an election held before the general election to decide which candidates will be included on the general election ballot. A runoff election is an election held if the state requires a candidate to receive a certain percentage of the vote to advance to a general election or hold public office.
When submitting your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), you should enter your current mailing address, even if you request your ballot by email, online or fax. If you want your election materials sent to a different address or have a forwarding address, use the forwarding address space to provide this information. It's also recommended that you provide your contact information so that your election official can contact you if they need additional information from you to accept your FPCA. If you want to receive your absentee ballot via email or online, you must provide your email address.
Select your preferred method for receiving your voting materials - mail, email or online. To vote in the primary elections, you must enter the name of the ballot of the party you want to receive. Political party membership is not required if an absentee ballot is requested for the general election. You can also provide any additional information that can help your election official accept this form, such as designating particular elections or the period in which you want to receive the ballots.
Sign and date the form before sending it off. You can send the FPCA by mail, email or fax*. Contact information can be found in the local election offices section or online at FVAP.gov. A voter can also personally deliver the FPCA to the early voting secretary no later than the eleventh day before election day.
To find out the status of your FPCA, contact your election official. Once you receive your absentee ballot from your state, you must return it in accordance with the deadlines and requirements of the federal election deadline table. For special federal elections, visit FVAP.gov for specific deadlines. You can send the state absentee ballot by mail or fax*. Contact information can be found in the local election offices section. If you don't have access to a fax machine to fax directly to your election official, you can use the DoD fax service to fax your ballot.
Uniformed Service members abroad can request that the 11-DoD prepaid mailing label be applied to their general election ballot - additional information on this label can be found in the Important Information section. A citizen who resides outside of the United States and whose return is not secure can use the FWAB to vote in every election for federal office. All other UOCAVA voters can use it to vote in all elections for federal, state and local offices, including bills. Your contact information is recommended so that your election official can contact you if they need additional information from you to accept your FWAB. To vote, type in the name of the candidate or political party for each office - you don't need to make a selection for each and every contest. You can send the FWAB by mail or fax (only by fax if you are in a hostile fire zone).
Additional information on this label can be found in the Important Information section or online at FVAP.gov. See the federal election deadline table for when you should submit your FWAB by - if you receive an absentee ballot from your state after transmitting your voted FWAB, you can also vote and return that absentee ballot from your state before its deadline. If both are received before their respective deadlines, only the state's absentee ballot will be counted. If you're a permanent resident of Taylor, Texas and want to know if you're eligible to vote, visit Texas SOS My Voter portal where you can enter your name, county, date of birth and zip code to display your voter registration information - this will include your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID).
