October is the month when blank ballots should be arriving; they should be completed and returned immediately. To help you help anyone who asks for guidance, I have compiled a chart of the various state rules concerning Ballot Return Envelopes. Note that deadlines for posting voted ballots will vary according to how long it takes to get mail delivered in the U.S. from your overseas base. From Western European countries it generally does not take as long as from elsewhere in the world. If someone has recourse to a private courier service, they must have a definite address - not a PO Box; and somehow the date sent should be carefully noted. We have not heard that any of these services are being offered gratis this year. I have recently updated the voting information on our website. Check it out (www.fawco.org)! Other information: If you don't receive the VIN, here are some changes to note in your VAGs ... (You might be able to print this out and cut out strips of info by state, thus eliminating having to write it all in. I also doubt you need it any more!) Changes From the States California: The new address for Monterey
County is: Monterey County Elections PO Box 4400 Salinas, CA 93912-4400 Massachusetts: The new address for the Merrimac Town Clerk is: Town Clerk, Merrimac Town Hall 2 School Street Merrimac, MA 01860 Ohio: The new address for the Fairfield
County Board of Elections is: Director, Fairfield County Board of Elections 951 Liberty
Drive Lancaster, OH 43130-8045 Texas: The new address for Travis County
is: Travis County P.O. Box 149325 Austin, TX 78714 Also from the October VIN - a rather late announcement of the Presidential Debates: The Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) has joined with the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to make this fall's debates more valuable to Americans abroad. DebateWatch is the CPD's nonpartisan, international program that brings U.S. citizens together to watch and discuss this fall's presidential and vice presidential debates. Throughout the world, DebateWatch participants will meet in schools, libraries, theaters, hotels, civic auditoriums, homes, and elsewhere to watch the debates on television or the Internet, or listen to them on the radio. At the end of each debate and before commentary begins, the DebateWatch facilitator will turn off the broadcast and lead participants in a discussion about the debate, the candidates, and the upcoming election. After finishing their discussion, participants may log on to the CPD's website, www.debates.org, to fill out a voluntary survey and provide feedback to the CPD. To learn more about DebateWatch or register to organize one, please see www.debates.org or email debatewatch@debates.org. The CPD was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. Its primary purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization sponsored all the presidential debates in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. More information about the CPD can be found at www.debates.org. The schedules for this fall's debates are as follows: First presidential debate: Thursday,
September 30 All debates will begin at 9 pm E.T., and will be carried by international media outlets. I also want to tell you that Polli
Brunelli wrote to inform me that the DOD has re-opened access to their website! Many servers
throughout the world had been refused access - supposedly on security grounds. It pays to
complain - vociferously. If you have had voters unhappy because they could not access this
site, please tell them it should work now. As soon as you receive your blank ballot, complete it (carefully) and post it. Be sure to follow all instructions, and get witnesses/notarization where required. It is a good idea to have it hand-stamped, especially for those states that accept late returns. And affix the correct postage! States requiring witnesses to your signature: Alabama (2) States requiring the notarization
of your signature: MISSISSIPPI Deadlines for Receipt of Voted Ballots Most states plan to count absentee ballot if they are received by Election Day. Exceptions are: States requiring voted ballots before election day: Alabama: 5 pm day before election
day States extending date for receipt of voted ballots until after election day, providing posted on or before that date: Alaska: 15 days States Permitting the Faxing of the Completed Ballot The following 17 states permit - some with special restrictions or exceptions - the electronic transmission of the completed ballots of overseas citizens: Alaska - Arizona - Florida - Hawaii - Kansas - Louisiana - Mississippi - Montana - New Jersey - New Mexico - North Carolina - North Dakota - Oklahoma - Rhode Island - South Carolina - Utah - Washington Note that you forfeit your right to
a secret vote. Also, you must consult the special instructions from your state and follow
accepted Faxing procedures. Consult a voting assistance volunteer, or use the following
links: It is a good idea (and at least for one state required) to also return your hard-copy ballot by airmail. Prepared by Kathy Webster, Chair, FAWCO Voting-from-Overseas Committee - September 2004
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