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Who Can Vote from Overseas?
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) allows
certain U.S. citizens to vote absentee, including members of the U.S.
Uniformed Services on active duty and merchant marine and their family
members and to U.S. citizens residing outside of the U.S. Members of the
U.S. Uniformed Services or merchant marine and their family members may
vote absentee while away from their place of voting residence, wherever
stationed, within or outside the United States.
The UOCAVA also applies to U.S. citizens residing outside the United States
and its territories. These citizens may vote in the state or territory
where they last resided immediately prior to departing the United States,
even if many years have elapsed and the citizen maintains no residence
in the state or territory and the intent to return to that state or territory
may not be certain. Most states and territories permit these citizens
to vote in elections for Federal offices only, although some states may
send a ballot containing local, state and Federal offices.
Note that the UOCAVA provides that voting for Federal offices shall not
affect the determination of the voter's place of residence for purpose
of any tax imposed under Federal, state or local law. Liability for state
income tax, however, may be incurred in some states by voting absentee
in state or local elections. To assess the probability of incurring state
taxes on income earned outside the United States, you may wish to consult
legal counsel for details.
Registering to Vote
In order to register to vote and/or to request an Absentee Ballot, an
eligible US citizen must accurately complete a Federal Post Card Application
form (FPCA) and submit that to the proper US election official. The FPCA
is used to:
 Register
to Vote in Federal, State and Local Elections
Request
an Absentee Ballot
Report
Changes of Address
The extent and manner of FPCA usage is controlled by state and territory
law, and sometimes by local procedure. For information on your state's
requirements, please visit the Federal Voting
Application Program (FVAP) website, or contact the American Citizens
Services office at (02) 397-4442, FAX (02) 397-4101.
The deadline for submitting the FPCA may vary from state to state. In
general, in order to ensure timely delivery of the election ballot to
you, every non-registered citizen is urged to submit the FPCA into the
hands of the appropriate election official at least 60 days prior to the
election; registered citizens are urged to submit the FPCA into the hands
of the appropriate election official at least 45 days before the election.
If your state instructs you to notarize the Federal Post Card Application
(FPCA) form and/or your Voting Ballot form, the American Citizens Services
branch can perform this service. There is no charge. Our hours are from
09:30-11:30 AM and 1:30-3:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
We are closed to the public on Wednesdays. The American Embassy is closed
on both U.S. and Korean holidays.
How to Mail Your Ballot
The U.S. Embassy is able to return ballots through government mail. Feel
free to drop off completed ballots with the American Citizen Services
section of the Embassy. Ballots mailed through the U.S. Embassy must be
in U.S. postage-paid envelopes or have appropriate U.S. postage affixed.
Also, the following courier services have express delivery to the United
States. For each of them, the delivery time is about 1-2 days and the
cost is approximately 27,000 Won.
DHL
#164-5, Yeomri-Dong, Mapo-Gu
Seoul 121-874, Korea
Phone: 1588-0001
Fedex
#146-1 Soosong-Dong, Chongro-Gu
Leema Bldg. 10th Fl.
Seoul 110-755, Korea
Phone: 02-333-8000
Hanjin
Express
#41-3, Seosomoon-Dong, Chung-Gu
Seoul 100-735, Korea
Phone: 02-738-1212
The U.S. Embassy is providing this information as a public service to
U.S. citizen voters and does not endorse any particular company or guarantee
delivery of ballots or ballot requests.
For More Information...
The best single source of information is the Federal
Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website.
On their site you'll find:
Comprehensive
information about voting in US elections;
Information
on Electronic (Fax) Transmission Service;
Assistance
from the Federal Voting Ombudsman with absentee voting problems and
issues;
Help
with urgent requests for registration and/or a ballot;
Help
if you have not received a status reply from the local election official
in your county or voting residence the Voting Information Center (VIC)
and...
Information
on elections, and recorded messages from Governors, Congresspersons
and candidates for state and federal offices.
If after reviewing the site you still have additional questions, you can
contact Federal Voting Application Program by e-mail,
or, by phone:
From
Korea, dial 00911, receive AT&T; message, then dial 877-217-3249 (toll-free).
In
the U.S. at 800-438-8683 (toll-free)
Additional On-Line Resources (links will open
in a new window)
Updated October 25, 2004
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