Subject: Supplemental Voting Information Here are the topics for this special newsletter: -- Didn't Receive Your Absentee Ballot Yet? -- Deadlines -- Free Fedex Shipping for Absentee Ballots -- Colorado Extends Deadline for Receipt of Absentee Ballots -- Unsubscribing Remember, you cannot vote at the Embassy or one of our Consulates. In most cases you must plan ahead so that your ballot reaches your home state on or before election day, November 2. -------------------------------------------------------- Didn't Receive Your Absentee Ballot Yet? -------------------------------------------------------- If you have registered but not yet received your state's absentee ballot, you should consider completing a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) which will allow you to vote in the general elections for Federal offices. If you have not yet registered, the registration deadlines for many states have already or very soon will pass. Check http://www.fvap.gov for details and for the downloadable forms. If you have already registered but did not get a ballot, to vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, come to the Embassy or one of our Consulates and request one. To be eligible, you must have applied for a regular ballot early enough so that the appropriate local official received the request at least 30 days prior to the election, and not have received the regular requested absentee ballot from the state. If you send in an FWAB and then receive your actual absentee ballot, vote the absentee ballot and return it to meet your state's ballot receipt deadline. The election official will match up the two forms and discard the FWAB. If you are worried about identity theft because of the information you must write on the outside of the FWAB, put the FWAB in another envelope and address the outer envelope to local election officials. Additional voting information is available at http://www.defense.gov/fvap. Also, for links to county election officials, try http://www.debexar.com/elecnet/sites.cfm. Not all counties are listed as they do not all have web sites. ------------------------------------------------------------- Deadlines ------------------------------------------------------------- Most states require your ballot to be received or postmarked by November 1 or 2; the rules vary from state to state, with some earlier and a few later. See http://japan.usembassy.gov/txts/wwwt101404.txt for a complete listing (Colorado voters, see updated information below) ------------------------------------------------------------- Free Fedex Shipping for Absentee Ballots ------------------------------------------------------------- Federal Express in Japan is pleased to announce free shipping of absentee ballots for US voters. Contact FedEx directly for more details of this service at 0120-003200, or at 043-298-1919. Please note however that FedEx requires that ballots must be shipped through FedEx offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka to take advantage of this free shipping service. Voters in Hokkaido and the Tohoku areas cannot use this offer and must make and pay for their own shipping arrangements. ------------------------------------------------------------- Colorado Extends Deadline for Receipt of Absentee Ballots ------------------------------------------------------------- There has been a delay in the mailing of absentee ballots to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) citizens from Colorado for the November 2, 2004 general election. Because of the delay, the Secretary of State of Colorado has extended the deadline for the receipt of absentee ballots from UOCAVA voters by ten days up to and including November 12, 2004. Ballots must be cast by 7:00 p.m. mountain standard time on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 and received by 5:00 p.m. on November 12, 2004. Overseas voters who have not yet received their state absentee ballot can use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (Standard Form 186) (FWAB) to vote for candidates for Federal office. FWABs are available from their Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) in their unit or at their embassy or consulate. Colorado also allows return of the voted ballot by fax. Information on faxing is available in Appendix C of the Voting Assistance Guide at http://www.fvap.gov/services/faxing.html. Further information on your precinct, candidates, elections, and voting is available at the Colorado Secretary of State website, http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/main.htm. More information is available toll-free from 64 countries using the toll-free numbers listed on the FVAP website, http://www.fvap.gov or by email from vote@fvap.ncr.gov. --------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribing --------------------------------------------------- We make every attempt to include in our newsletter information of real value. We know that should world events dictate, we can use this email channel to get important information to you, as we did in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. That said, if you are leaving Japan or otherwise wish to unsubscribe from this list, click on this link, or type it into your browser's address window: http://mh.databack.com/c.php?L=tokyoacs&E=#email# You can also unsubscribe by writing from the same email address you used to subscribe, and send a blank email to: leave-tokyoacs@mh.databack.com --------------------------------------------------- Inclusion of Non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents. This newsletter is prepared by the American Embassy in Tokyo with contributions from our Consulates/Consulates-General in Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka-Kobe, Fukuoka and Naha. Need a form? Just about any form needed for use in our American Citizen Services sections is now available for download, including passport forms, the things you need to marry in Japan, blank Powers of Attorney, US Federal tax forms and more. Visit http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-forms.html, or take the shortcut at http://forms.tokyoacs.com/ Access us on your mobile phone at http://imode.tokyoacs.com