How Voting from Overseas Works

Almost all U.S. citizens 18 and older living outside the United States can vote in federal elections, no matter how long they have been away. The whole process runs on one federal form, and it works the same way every election year.

2026 is a federal midterm election year, with all 435 U.S. House seats and about a third of the U.S. Senate up for a vote. Election Day is November 3, 2026.

1. 1

   Complete your FPCA

   The Federal Post Card Application registers you to vote and requests your absentee ballot in one step. Our free tool walks you through it: complete a short online form with your personal and address information — roughly 5–7 minutes — and receive your completed FPCA as a ready-to-send document by email.

   You will need your last U.S. address, an ID number (your state ID or the last four digits of your Social Security number), and your current contact information overseas.

   Start your FPCA
2. 2

   Your form reaches your election official

   Your FPCA goes to the local election official who runs elections for your U.S. voting address. In most states, the tool can email your completed, signed form directly to that office — no printer or scanner needed.

   Some states require a paper copy, and a small number of election offices have asked us not to accept electronic signatures. In those cases the tool looks up your election official and gives you their mailing address, so you know exactly where to send it. This removes the step of manually researching which local election office to contact — a common point of confusion for overseas voters.

3. 3

   Your ballot comes to you

   Once your election official accepts your FPCA, they send you your ballot. Federal law requires states to transmit ballots to overseas and military voters at least 45 days before a federal general election, so for the November 3, 2026 general election yours should be sent by around September 19, 2026.

   When you complete your FPCA, you choose how you would like to receive your ballot. Almost everyone chooses to receive it electronically — usually by email — so it reaches you as soon as your election official sends it, rather than weeks later by international mail. If you ask for a paper ballot instead, give international delivery plenty of time.

4. 4

   Vote and return your ballot

   Mark your ballot and return it before your state's deadline. Return methods and deadlines vary by state: some accept email or fax, others require mail, and some count ballots by postmark date while others must physically receive them by a set time.

   The instructions that arrive with your ballot, and your local election official, are the authority for your state. Give international mail plenty of time.

5. 5

   If your ballot is late, use the backup ballot

   If you requested a ballot and it has not arrived as your state's deadline approaches, you can use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) — a federal backup ballot for overseas and military voters. It covers federal offices.

   If your official ballot arrives after you have sent the FWAB, complete and return the official ballot as well. Only one of the two will be counted.

6. 6

   Register again next election year

   Because voter rolls are periodically purged and address information can change, election officials generally recommend submitting a new FPCA every year — and any time you move, or change your name or email address.

   We send reminders by email based on your state, so you know when to expect your ballot, when your return deadline is approaching, and when it is time to file a new FPCA. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), a program of the U.S. Department of Defense, is the official federal source for overseas and military voting information at fvap.gov. The Center for U.S. Voters Abroad Turnout Project is an independent nonprofit and is not a government agency.