We strongly encourage you to register to vote and/or request absentee ballots as early in the year as possible to ensure that you will receive all ballots for which you are eligible. Should questions or problems occur, you would still be able to address them in time to vote in the 2008 general elections. As the voting procedure involves mailing both ways, overseas voters must apply early to vote by absentee ballot.  Complete information can be found at the website of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. Remember that the votes cast in 2008 will decide who will be the next President of the United States. All indications point to a close election in 2008 and therefore every single vote is important.   

The following is the basic absentee voting process:

• You complete an application form (see below) and send it to local election officials in the U.S.
• The local official approves your request, or contacts you for further information
• The local official sends you an absentee ballot
• You vote the ballot and send it back in time to meet your state's deadline

Download our voting pamphlet in MS Word 2003 format

Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Overseas citizens are eligible to participate in presidential and state primary elections, run-off elections and special elections that occur throughout the year, as well as the general elections in November 2008. You are strongly encouraged to register to vote and request your absentee ballot early!  

Important Information About Voting Abroad – 2008 Elections The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at www.fvap.gov. It has a wealth of information about absentee voting including: downloadable absentee ballot applications and write-in ballots, state-specific instructions for completing the form, links to state and local officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot to use when requested materials fail to arrive in time.  

Overseas citizens groups help people to vote. We encourage you to contact Democrats Abroad, Republicans Abroad or other American citizens groups or organizations for assistance in registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots.  Links to these groups are at  http://www.fvap.gov/links/ocitlinks.html .

What about my state’s requirements? Each state establishes voting procedures, and so requirements across the country vary.  It is important to be aware of your state’s deadlines for registration.  Specific information about your state's procedures is available at http://fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html#ch3.A complete 2008 election calendar is available at http://fvap.gov/pubs/primarycal.html

Be an educated voter. Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues is widely available and easy to obtain via the Internet.  Use the links appearing on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at  http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html , or choose any one of several search engines to locate articles and information. 

An emergency ballot is available . If the ballot receipt deadline is approaching, and you have not yet received the blank ballot from local officials, you can download an emergency ballot, write in the names of the candidates and the offices for which they are running, and send it back in time to meet your state's ballot receipt deadline.  The emergency ballot (SF-186, Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB) is available on the Internet at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/forms.html .

The Voting Assistance Officer Voting Assistance Officers at the U.S. Embassy in Yekaterinburg are available to answer questions about absentee voting. Contact information for the Voting Assistance Office is:
Tel: 343-379-3001
Fax: 343-3794515
E-mail: consulyekat@state.gov

Look for notices from the Embassy throughout the year relating to the 2008 elections at http://www.usa.ural.ru

Additional websites:  
www.vote-smart.org
www.lwv.org
www.overseasvotefoundation.org
www.democratsabroad.org
www.republicansabroad.org

Again, we strongly encourage you to begin this process as soon as possible.