A Countrywide Conundrum: Steps to Voting Absentee

In a recent, non-scientific Twitter poll of students of The King's College, 59% said they would vote via an absentee ballot. This vast majority represents those who either wish to vote in their previous state of residence or missed the registration deadline in New York.

This remaining option is for those of us too proud, invested or lazy to register in another state. Suffrage is an American right but it can be difficult to vote when you are many, many miles from your home county. Here is everything you need to know about absentee voting and mailing in a ballot.

According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website’s neat infographic, “How to Vote from Anywhere,” voting is done in two steps:

Step one: Register and request your absentee ballot with the federal post card application.

Step two: Fill out and send in your ballot when it arrives.

In fact, the entire FVAP website makes the process very simple. Go to the website, look for the search bar (“Looking for Something?”) and enter your state. The first link will take you to a menagerie of voting information about your state, including links to request a ballot application, deadlines to send in both said ballot said application and the voting ballot itself. There is even a nifty “Check the Status” link to track your mailed-ballot. Regardless of the state, though, there a few deadlines to keep in mind.

Nov. 1 is the last day you can postmark an application for an absentee ballot. Nov. 7 is the last day to apply in-person for your ballot, as well as the last day to postmark the ballot itself. The ballot must be reserved by your county’s board of elections no later than Nov. 15 (military voters, no later than Nov. 21). Nov. 8 is the last day to deliver the ballot in-person (by someone other than the voter).

So, what are you still doing here? You are already online, so get your ballot! Vote!