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 Voting Assistance
AIT strongly encourages all U.S. citizens residing in Taiwan to vote in all U.S. elections in which they’re eligible. Our staff members in the American Citizen Services unit are available to answer your questions and provide relevant resources. Please write to VoteTaipei@state.gov with specific questions. WHO: Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are residing outside of the United States during an election period are eligible to vote by absentee ballot in any election for federal office. WHERE: You can vote by absentee ballot in federal elections held in the state in which you are registered or in which you were last registered to vote. If you were never registered, you can register and vote in the last state in which you resided. If you never resided in the United States, you can register and vote in the last state your parents resided in before your birth (in most states). Voting jurisdictions in the U.S. are usually by county, but sometimes by township or city. HOW: You must apply for an absentee ballot by submitting a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to your city, town, county, or parish clerk in the US. The FPCA is accepted by all states and territories as either an application for registration form or as an application for an absentee ballot (or both). Applications are available online at http://www.fvap.gov/ (Federal Voting Assistance Program). This interactive website guides users through registration by mail and provides complete state-specific instructions. There are no provisions for voting or registration at AIT. However, AIT American Citizen Services Unit will assist U.S. citizens in witnessing or notarizing FPCA forms free of charge (only required by four jurisdictions) Step 1. Register. Submit the FPCA to the U.S. Get the form from http://www.fvap.gov/ We recommend that you send the form to the U.S. using the Taiwan postal system which is fast and inexpensive. AIT can also mail the form to the U.S. for you for free but this service takes at least two weeks. Get the address of your local election official from http://www.fvap.gov/ Step 2. Request a Ballot.The form mentioned above (FPCA) serves this purpose also, so if you live overseas, you must submit this form whether you’re already registered or not. In fact, you should submit this form every year. This will let your U.S. local election official know that you live in Taiwan and where they should send the ballot. Print legibly! The form must be submitted well before the election. Again, we recommend the Taiwan postal system. Step 3. Receive a Ballot. If you do not receive the ballot within two weeks of the election, complete an Emergency Write-In Ballot, available at http://www.fvap.gov/. Only those who submitted an FPCA but did not receive the ballot in time are permitted to use the Emergency Write-In Ballot. Click here for Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot FAQs. Step 4. Mail Voted Ballot. Vote your ballot and mail it in the envelope provided. If using the Emergency Write-In Ballot, use your own envelope and address it to the same local election official to whom you sent the FPCA. Click here for mailing options from Taiwan. If you sent in the emergency write-in ballot and you later receive the state’s regular ballot, vote it also and mail it in (your vote will only be counted once).
For more information on the U.S. 2008 Elections, please click here.  For questions about voting in U.S. elections, please send an email to VoteTaipei@state.gov |
