ELECTION DAY IS FAST APPROACHING!
Voter registration and ballot request deadlines for the November 2020 are as early as October 5th and run as late as October 28th.
You should complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) each year to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter.
If you are not sure about the status of your absentee ballot request you should contact your local election officials in the United States or check the status of your registration via your state’s voter registration verification website.
You can get voting assistance from the embassy by contacting the Consular Section during working hours by phone or by email at VoteChisinau@state.gov.
Normal transit time from Moldova to the United States is 20 days. Please visit https://www.fvap.gov/COVID-19 for the latest information on any international postal disruptions.
If you have never voted while overseas before, it is not too late. The process is easy – just follow these steps:
- Complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
This allows you to register to vote and request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (presidential and state primaries, run-off, special, and the November general elections) during the year. Local election officials in all U.S. states and territories accept the FPCA.
The online voting assistant is an easy way to complete the FPCA. No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state).
- Submit the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
You can drop off your FPCA at the embassy, or you can send your FPCA or ballot directly to your local election officials via international mail or professional courier service at your own expense.
- Receive Your Ballot
After submitting your FPCA, most states allow you to confirm online your registration and ballot delivery selection. States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before an election (September 19) for federal office (President, U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives) to any overseas U.S. citizen who has completed an FPCA.
- Return Your Ballot
We recommend that if you plan to return your paper ballot to your election officials via the U.S. embassy/consulate, please return your ballot to them by October 1 to account for transit times between overseas posts and local voting districts. If you wish to drop off your ballot, place it in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You can download the postage paid envelope from the FVAP.gov website.
You can make arrangements to drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, by contacting the Consular Section during business hours or via email at VoteChisinau@state.gov. All ballots collected by October 1st will be mailed out on that date or with the next delivery back to the United States. We will continue to receive and mail ballots through the election season. Ballots will be stamped with the date received and mailed.
If there isn’t enough time to receive and send back your ballot before the election, use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). If your official absentee ballot arrives after sending in the FWAB, fill out and send in the official ballot too. Only one will be counted.
After you send in your ballot, check if it was received by your election office.
Your Vote Counts
Many U.S. elections within the past ten years have been decided by a margin of victory of less than 0.1%. All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline (differs by state).
Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, and search the Internet to locate articles and information.
To receive information by email about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP’s Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook and Twitter.
If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact US Embassy Chisinau’s Voting Assistance Officer at +373 22 40 8300, or at VoteChisinau@state.gov.
