4. Why should I send in the form to request my ballot every calendar year?

As an overseas voter, you need to send in the form to request your ballot every calendar year in which you wish to vote.

Voting in the last federal election does not mean you will get a ballot for the next election! Under federal law, states are only required to send you a ballot if you submit the form to request it that calendar year — even if you're a registered voter. At least 29 states require an annual request and most of the remaining states require that the ballot request be sent in every general election cycle, which is difficult to keep track of. Be safe and send in your form every year — you don't want to miss your chance to vote! 

Overseas voters use the same form (the Federal Post Card Application or FPCA) to both register to vote initially and to request a ballot each year. The FPCA is only one page and takes only a few minutes to fill out and send in, but it provides significant benefits, including protecting your ballot at the federal level in case of a recount. (For more information about the protections provided by the FPCA, please see "Why should I send in an FPCA form for overseas voters instead of the absentee ballot request form for in-state voters?".)

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