voting info for US citizens living in the UK

[kmoon249]

FYI this is an email i received from the US embassy. The entire message below is cut and pasted from the email. Hopefully it will be helpful.

If you plan to vote in the November 2020 election it is important to ACT NOW! Don?t wait, return your voted ballot right away! Remember U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States ? but you can get assistance in requesting and returning your absentee ballot. Many states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 3.

The Department of State is committed to assisting overseas voters in casting their ballots. For instructions on how to vote from the United Kingdom please see our website https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/voting/. For general overseas voting information please see the Department of State?s web site Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad or www.FVAP.gov.

Never received your ballot? If you registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot prior to your state?s registration deadline, but have not yet received your ballot, complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state?s deadline. If your regular ballot arrives later, complete and return it as well. Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state?s deadline. Your vote will not be counted twice.

RETURNING YOUR BALLOT:

Note that the U.S. Postal Service recommends voters mail their completed ballots before Election Day and at least one week prior to your state?s deadline. To allow processing time between Department of State and U.S. Postal Service systems this means ballots must be received in Embassy London no later than October 20, 2020. Ballots received after that date will be forwarded but may arrive too late to be counted. Please also check the election regulations in the state in which you vote as deadlines may differ, and you may have alternative voting options such as electronic voting or by fax.

The above timeline is based on current local and U.S. conditions, which are subject to change. Should conditions change and impact the timeline we will alert you. We strongly recommend you submit your ballot as far in advance as possible.

If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you, place it in either a U.S. postage-paid envelope (provided with the ballot) or an envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You should make sure to seal your ballot prior to dropping it off at the Embassy.

You can drop off your completed voting forms and ballots at the Consular entrance of the Embassy during the following hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For after-hours and weekend service, you may drop off your ballots at the Service Entrance (West Pavilion) of the Embassy, located across the street from District Coffee. Please note that all visitors to the Embassy are subject to security screening and you will not be permitted to bring electronic devices, including cell phones, inside the facility. All visitors are also required to wear a facemask. You can also mail your ballots to the Embassy at:

Embassy of the United States

American Citizen Services

33 Nine Elms Lane

London

SW11 7US

Missed the U.S. Embassy shipment deadline? Consider returning your ballot to the United States via a commercial express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or return your voted ballot electronically if allowed by your state. Ballots sent to local election officials via express courier service do not receive standard postmarks, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 3 prior to payment and shipment. Check your state?s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.

Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax. Review your state?s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov carefully for guidance. If your state allows returning your ballot by fax, you can use the Department of Defense?s email to fax service. The FVAP email-to-fax service is very easy. It?s a free service that provided for voters to vote by fax without a fax machine, by using email. Voters can scan and email voting materials to [email protected] and FVAP will fax the election materials for them. Voters will need to include all of the ballot materials sent to them and the voter transmission cover sheet for fax and email, which is available at FVAP.gov.

Returning your ballot by international mail delivery. If using Royal Mail, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for international mail delivery. Place British postage on your completed, signed, and dated FPCA or voted ballot, and mail it directly to the local election officials in the state where you vote. Make sure USA is indicated at the end of the address of your U.S. board of elections. We recommend that you speak to a Royal Mail official to ensure you place sufficient postage for delivery.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING. Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting. Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot. Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.

Have Questions? Please contact Embassy London?s Voting Assistance Officer at 020 7891 3640 or at [email protected]. You can also contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program directly if you encounter issues with local election officials by emailing [email protected] or toll free by phone from many countries around the world.

Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy London, United Kingdom

33 Nine Elms Lane

London, UK SW11 7US

+(44) (0) 207-499-9000

[email protected]

https://uk.usembassy.gov/

U.S. Consulate General Edinburgh

+44 (0) 131 556-8315

[email protected]

U.S. Consulate General Belfast

+44(0) 28 9038-6100

[email protected]

State Department ? Consular Affairs

888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444

United Kingdom Country Information

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[kmoon249]

Bumping this post.

Please cast your absentee ballot in the US election ASAP. It will give you piece of mind and you will have time to recast if something goes wrong. I did mine tonight.

[kmoon249]

This website will give you state specific voting information including whether your state provides online ballot status which many states now provide.

https://www.fvap.gov/guide

Best wishes.

[Clutterqueen]

Had to see it to believe it and very interesting.