Voting Abroad
I mailed in my Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot today at the US Embassy in San José, Costa Rica. It is a backup ballot for overseas voters in case they do not receive my official ballot. It only allows me to vote for federal offices, in this case: the president and vice president, US senator, & US representative. The process was pretty easy, following the instructions at https://www.votefromabroad.org/fwab/.
Register to Vote Overseas
You register to vote overseas by completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). https://www.fvap.gov/ has instructions for each state. I live in Houston, Texas, the jurisdiction of Harris County. "Texas voters abroad need to request a ballot each calendar year you’d like to vote in." https://www.votefromabroad.org/states/tx/. Harris County makes it easy for overseas voters to register online at https://fpca.harrisvotes.com/. Well, they actually require you to download the pdf form and sign it. I signed it sent it in using https://www.hellosign.com/ in January. HelloSign allows signing three documents for free per month. It is a wonderful service that I've been using for years. I then sent the signed pdf to FPCA Harris County Clerk fpca@cco.hctx.net, which is also who I receive the official ballots from.
Mailing in the Ballot
The print shop I went to today did not have the ability to print envelopes. I was confused how to print the envelope templates or get US postage stamps. Turns out, the US Embassy in San José has official election mail envelopes that do not require postage. They gave me two for free. I addressed one of them and placed inside the page with my voter information and the ballot page wrapped in a "security envelope" page. May be I did not need the "Security Envelope" page. Instructions last May for the primary runoff election ballot said "The lack of a security envelope will not invalidate your ballot." I'll email the FPCA Harris County Clerk to clarify: "Printing on a regular piece of paper is what is usually done and is acceptable." "The security envelope is not required."
I'm not sure if I was one of the first voters at the US Embassy, but the security guard was a bit confused what I was asking for at first. This is the correct door near the main entrance. He sent me to the other entrance and then I was sent back to this one. After talking on the phone to someone else for about 10 minutes, he handed me the official election mail envelope that I needed. He would not let me in until after I sealed the envelope. I'm glad I brought a pen. After he let me in, he swabbed the envelope, had it scanned, then gave it back to me, to drop it into a clear secure voting box.
Alternative: Mail your Envelope to US Embassy
Yesterday, the US Embassy in San José sent out this email. Mailing your ballot to them is another option for voters that can not make it to or do not wish to go to the US Embassy. You will still need a postage-paid envelope, a way to print the official election mail template on an envelope, or US postage stamps.
I Voted
Today I voted, kind of, and I feel good about the time I spent figuring it out. I made sure my vote will count at the federal level in case something goes wrong with my official ballot. Now that I know the process, I expect mailing in the official ballot to be easier. I hope documenting what I had to do to vote while abroad helps other US citizens abroad vote too in this very important upcoming election.
