How do USA Citizens in the Philippines Vote during the 2024 Presidential Election?
Absentee Voting Instruction for people outside the United States of America
Do you know you can still vote during this 2024 presidential election even though you are outside the USA? I am currently in the Philippines but I just finished filling out my absentee ballot for the November 5th poll. In this post, I will share with you how you can vote while out of the country especially during this very important November presidential election.
WHO can vote
Who can vote from abroad? Well, there is a law called Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act which allowed the following to vote:
members of the US Uniformed Services and Merchant Marine
family members of the Uniformed Services and Merchant Marine
US citizens residing outside the United States
Thus, if you an American citizen abroad who is of voting age, you can cast your presidential choice through absentee voting.
HOW to do Absentee Voting
First, go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program site to fill out a Federal Post Card Application. You will need to select your state of voting residence and jurisdiction or where you voted before. In case you haven’t registered to vote yet or was born abroad, check this site to know how and where you can register and check this FAQ on absentee voting. Please note that the deadline to request and send your absentee ballot is different in each US state.
My Experience
I filled out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and got a PDF file copy of my state’s Absentee Ballot Request and instructions on how to do it. I printed it out and was given three choices:
mail my application
fax my application
email my application (they gave an official email of the county where I vote)
I printed it out, signed it and took pictures of the cover page and the application form then emailed it on August 21st. The next day, they emailed me back and confirmed that they have received and processed my FPCA. On September 19th, they emailed me my absentee ballot including instructions. This time, they wanted it to be mailed and be post marked on or before November 5th.
Remember, each state and jurisdiction have different deadlines and specific instructions. Just in case you are not familiar with the Philippine mailing system, you can use the Philippine Postal Service but personally, I use LBC Express. If you found this informative, please consider sharing and subscribing. Next post will be about a budget hotel that is near an MRT (train) station and popular malls.