By Barbara Erickson, Chair GOTV & Hope Bradberry, Chair DA SMA

 

Congratulations, you received your ballot, now vote it, and return it ASAP so it will arrive to be counted on Election Day, November 3!

 

When you receive your ballot by email, download it, print it, vote it, and follow the instructions to send it back. There is no time to delay! The number one reason overseas ballots are not counted is because they arrive late.

 

Twenty states require your ballot to be mailed back: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois*, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, and Wisconsin. 

 

*IL – please call your local election official to see if they will allow electronic submission.

 

This year SMA voters have a unique challenge because the consular office remains closed. In order to assist these voters, a Community Liaison Volunteer of the American Embassy in Mexico City and Voter Assistance Officer of the Department of Defense will facilitate the gathering of ballots for transport via DHL to the embassy in Mexico City. There they will be placed in the mail pouch to the border and placed in the USPS in Brownsville.

 

The final ballot collection day is Wednesday, September 30, by 3pm at Ancha de San Antonio 19. If voters choose to send their ballots through a local mail forwarding service, we recommend getting them in the mail no later than September 30.

 

If you have not gotten your ballot, contact your local election official today to see if they can resend it. If not, you may contact us about filling out a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot. You can find their contact info here: www.votefromabroad.org/states

 

There are also other important factors when preparing your ballot for return.

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Completely fill in the oval on the ballot with a black pen.
• Sign your declaration page with the same signature that you requested your ballot.
• Do not sign your ballot.
• Seal it in a secure envelope.
• Make sure all pages required by the state are in the mailing envelope and the security envelope containing your ballot.
• Take care and make sure the mailing envelope can’t in any way be damaged during transport. No tape or staples should be used that could be caught in a sorting machine and torn. 
• On the mailing envelope use your Mexican home address in the return address.

 

Other states allow electronic and fax submission. The following states are mail and fax states: AK (if requested ballot to be emailed), CA, FL, LA, NM, and OK. We have partnered with Smart Space Hub, Salida a Celaya 34. The faxing of your ballot will be underwritten by SmartSpace. If this is an option for your state, you are strongly advised to use it. There is also a website, faxzero.com, where you can fax these documents for free, or for a small fee on larger ballots.

 

Again, we are here to assist voters! Please email us at demsabroadsma@gmail.com!!