Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots!
October 10, 2018
Embassies and consulates are not polling places. Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away!
The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 6th. U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2018 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, you 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.
The final date to return your voted paper ballot to your local election officials by election day for free via the U.S. Embassy in Tunis is Tuesday, October 16, 2018. If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you, place your ballot in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You can drop off your ballot at the embassy any working day between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please email TunisACS@state.gov in advance so we can notify the guards of your arrival. You can also get voting assistance from the embassy by appearing at the U.S. Embassy and requesting an appointment with the Voting Assistance Officer any working day between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please email TunisACS@state.gov in advance so we can notify the guards of your arrival.
Ballots not sent to local election officials by our Embassy shipment deadline? If you wish to participate in this election and have not yet sent your ballot to your local election officials by our the drop-off deadline listed above, you should consider returning your ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or electronically if allowed by your state. 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 6th 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. Consult and carefully review your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov.
Returning your ballot by mail. Ballots sent via regular international mail from most countries 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 official. Drop it off at the Embassy Tunis, 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 Tunisia’s postal system, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for international mail delivery.
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.
Have Questions? Please contact Tunisia’s Voting Assistance Officer at TunisACS@state.gov. You can also contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program directly if you encounter issues with local election officials by emailing Vote@FVAP.gov or toll free by phone from many countries around the world.
Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.
For additional information:
- The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia is located in Berges du Lac, 1053 Tunis, Tel: +216 71 107 000, 8:00 am until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Email: tunisacs@state.gov.
- The after-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is +216 71 107 000.
- For American Citizens Services at the Department of State, call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or +1-202-501-4444 from other countries, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
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