Military, families have absentee voting options during pandemic crisis

(Contributed graphic)

(Contributed graphic)

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) is tracking the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on active-duty military, their eligible family members and U.S. citizens abroad and recommending ways to avoid any postal issues that may result from changes made by international postal operators.

In its role under the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) [ https://www.fvap.gov/info/laws/uocava ], FVAP is working closely with partners at the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Department of State and within the Department of Defense as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves to provide assistance to voters experiencing international mail disruptions, shifting election dates and other potential effects on the 2020 election cycle related to COVID-19.

Register and request your ballot through FVAP.gov: Use the Federal Post Card Application at FVAP.gov/FPCA [ https://www.fvap.gov/fpca-privacy-notice ] to simultaneously register and request an absentee ballot.

You can also consider having your ballot be sent to you electronically. Voters in countries currently experiencing, or likely to experience, mail disruptions should select an electronic option for receiving their blank ballot from their election official.

Consider state ballot submission alternatives by referring to your state's instructions on FVAP.gov for available options for returning your voted ballot. Most states allow voters to submit ballots online.

For the latest alerts on the international mail service, voters and election officials should refer to the USPS alerts found at https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/welcome.htm.

For the latest alerts on domestic mail services, voters and election officials should refer to the USPS alerts found at https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/.

FVAP will post the latest information on the COVID-19 response for voters and election officials at www.FVAP.gov/COVID-19 . FVAP will also continue to work with its federal partners and with state election officials to confirm and report changes to election dates and deadlines, and any other information impacting the "UOCAVA" voting process.

FVAP remains committed to assisting voters and election officials. Its call center [ https://www.fvap.gov/info/contact ] remains open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m.to 4 p.m. EDT and can be reached by calling 1-800-438-8683 or by email at vote@fvap.gov.

For more information about the Federal Voting Assistance Program or assistance with absentee voting, go to www.FVAP.gov , call 703-588-1584 (toll free 1-800-438-VOTE or DSN 425-1584) or email (vote@fvap.gov).

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