Embassy Encourages Absentee Voting

American Citizen Services offered a press conference to encourage absentee voting.

The U.S Embassy encourages U.S citizens over the age of 18 living in El Salvador to register to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections on November 6, 2012.

In a press conference on September 7, Embassy officials from the Office of American Citizen Services (ACS) explained that U.S. citizens will not be permitted to vote at the embassy on Election Day. Instead, U.S. citizens residing outside the United States who wish to participate in the November elections must register to vote with local election officials in their state of legal (voting) residence.

Embassy officials outlined the basic steps for absentee voter register as follows:
•    U.S. citizens must first fill out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), which is available online at www.FVAP.gov.
•    After completing the application, citizens may mail their FPCA to the United States through El Salvador’s postal system, or for free by printing a postage-paid envelope at the FVAP website and dropping it off at the ACS Office of the U.S. Embassy from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. weekdays.
•    Forty-five days before the election, states will send blank ballots electronically or by mail to the address provided on the FPCA.  Please note that ballots cannot be mailed to the U.S. Embassy.
•    Citizens should complete their ballots carefully and legibly, and return them to their local election officials before their state’s ballot receipt deadline. Ballots may be returned electronically in many states.  Otherwise, completed ballots may be sent to the U.S. through El Salvador’s postal system, an express courier service, or by dropping them off in a sealed, postage-paid envelope at the ACS Office of the U.S. Embassy.

Detailed instructions for completing the absentee vote process are available at www.FVAP.gov.  U.S. citizens are reminded that citizens must re-register to vote by absentee vote every year, even if they have already voted in past elections. U.S. Citizens who have never resided in the United States may also be eligible to vote, and may request assistance in doing so from the ACS Office of the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. Embassy is El Salvador is available to help with any questions about the voting process. Citizens may email questions to VoteSanSalvador@state.gov or visit the ACS Office at the U.S. Embassy from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. weekdays.

The U.S government invites every American citizen living in El Salvador to exercise their right to vote. Voting is a citizen’s opportunity to be heard, to hold elected officials accountable for their decisions and to have a say in important issues that affect their communities.