Voting

[OnMyWay]

On 1/24/2020 at 11:27 PM, earthdome said:

I wonder how selecting a state for residency for purposes of voting would impact having to pay state income taxes. i.e. If you use California will they go after you for state income taxes.

 

On 1/25/2020 at 9:37 AM, OnMyWay said:

California is already a pest to me for taxes and I am not registered to vote there, so California is out.  I will try Florida, where I have a house and there is no income tax.

Actually I seem to be still on the voter roles in Florida, but I have not figured out how to do it in the past.  Hopefully this info from Rod will make it easier.

Voting update.   As I mentioned above, I was still on the Broward County Florida voter roles, but really didn't know how to vote.  I went to the FVAP.com site and read through quite a bit. 

What is my U.S. voting residence address?
Your U.S. voting residence address is used to determine where you are eligible to vote. For military voters, it is usually the last address you lived at in your state of legal residence. For overseas citizens, it is usually the last place you lived at in the U.S. before moving overseas. You do not need to have any current ties with this address.

If I follow the rules, I should register and vote in my last state of residence, which was Kentucky.  Previously, I probably could have used Florida because I still owned a house there, but I sold it.  So I decided to use Kentucky.  They have everything online, but when I went to submit the form, it did not seem to work, so I printed it and sent it by e-mail.  Kentucky allows mail, fax and e-mail submissions, and then I chose to have them e-mail ballots.

On the FVAP website, it has this about taxes;

Does voter registration affect my tax status?
You can vote for federal offices without a change to your tax status, but voting for non-federal offices may result in state and local taxation. There may also be tax implications when changing your residence from one state to another. We recommend that you seek legal advice when changing your voting residence.

So, I will only vote in the Federal elections.  Hopefully Kentucky will not hassle me like California did.  I have no interest in the state and local elections.

[Joey G]

11 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

So, I will only vote in the Federal elections.  Hopefully Kentucky will not hassle me like California did.  I have no interest in the state and local elections.

I've seen elections that are only "state and local", but  the upcoming election ballot in November in our state will have everything from the president to the school board on it. 

[OnMyWay]

Just now, Joey G said:

I've seen elections that are only "state and local", but  the upcoming election ballot in November in our state will have everything from the president to the school board on it. 

Yes, but aren't they usually in separate sections?  Just keep a copy as your proof, in case they hassle you.

[OnMyWay]

Additionally, I got this from Jack Walker at Subic RAO today.  It is from the Embassy in Manila, but he inserted info in there that you can drop your ballot at RAO, and they will get it to Manila.  If you have a nearby RAO, you might want to contact them to see if they offer this service.

======================================================================

United States Embassy Manila, Philippines

Message for U.S. Citizens: Absentee Voting Week is September 27-October 4
August 17, 2020

Be an Active Voter by taking the necessary steps to vote in the 2020 U.S. elections and participating in Absentee Voting Week!

In some states, voter registration and ballot request deadlines for the November 2020 are as early as October 5th. Whether you are a first-time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, we recommend that you complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) each year to ensure you are able to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter.

If you have already completed a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) in 2020 and requested electronic delivery of your ballot, you will be receiving your blank ballot or instructions for how to access your ballot soon if you have not already received it. If you are not sure about the status of your absentee ballot request you should contact your local election officials in the United States or check the status of your registration via your state’s voter registration verification website.

You may drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, during the following hours:

The U.S. Embassy’s public entrance from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on holidays or the Veterans Affairs Manila Regional Office 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday - Friday, except holidays.

IF YOU CANT GET TO MANILA, DROP IT OFF AT THE RAO ON MONDAYS AND WE WILL TAKE IT TO THE EMBASSY FOR YOU, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ON VOTING OR REGISTRATION SEE jACK AT RAO, YOUR VOTING OFFICER.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING

Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting. Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot. Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.

If you have never voted while overseas before, it is not too late. The process is easy ­-- just follow these steps:

1. Complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)

Whether you are a first-time voter or have voted absentee in past elections, we recommend that you complete an FPCA to receive your ballot this fall. It allows you to register to vote and request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (presidential and state primaries, run-off, special, and the November general elections) during the course of the year in which you submit the FPCA. Local election officials in all U.S. states and territories accept the FPCA.

The online voting assistant available at FVAP.gov is an easy way to complete the FPCA. It will ask you questions specific to your state and tell you if electronic ballot delivery is possible. No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state). Be sure to include your email address to take advantage of electronic delivery. The online voting assistant will generate a printable FPCA, which you can then print and sign.

2. Submit the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)

The FVAP online tool will walk you through the form and provide you with a PDF packet to print, sign and send directly to your local election official (LEO). Some states offer online voter registration. If your state requires you to return paper voting forms to local election officials by mail, you can do so through international mail, or courier service. Place your voting forms in postage paid return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage, and address them to the relevant local election officials. Another option is to drop off election materials at the Embassy’s public entrance from 8am to 3:30pm, Monday through Friday, except on holidays or the Veterans Affairs Regional Manila Office 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday - Friday, except holidays.

3. Receive Your Ballot

After submitting your FPCA, most states allow you to confirm online your registration and ballot delivery selection. States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before an election (September 19) for federal office (President, U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives) to any overseas U.S. citizen who has completed an FPCA.

4. Return Your Ballot

We recommend that if you plan to return your paper ballot to your election officials via the U.S. embassy, please return your ballot to by October 2 to account for transit times between overseas posts and local voting districts. If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you, place it in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You can download the postage paid envelope from the FVAP.gov website

If there isn't enough time to receive and send back your ballot before the election, use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). It is a backup ballot you can use if you don’t receive your ballot in a timely manner. If your official absentee ballot arrives after sending in the FWAB, fill out and send in the official ballot too. Only one will be counted.

After you send in your ballot, you can check if it was received by your election office.

Your Vote Counts

Many U.S. elections within the past ten years have been decided by a margin of victory of less than 0.1%. All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline (differs by state).

Be an educated voter. Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online and search the Internet to locate articles and information.

To receive information by email about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP's Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook and Twitter.

If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact U.S. Embassy Manila’s Voting Assistance Officer at +63-2-5301-2000 or at VoteMANILA@state.gov

[Jack Peterson]

Come on Referee

[Guy F.]

If you don't vote you forfeit your right to complain about the results.

[Joey G]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

Yes, but aren't they usually in separate sections?  Just keep a copy as your proof, in case they hassle you.

OK... I'm guessing if you just ask for an absentee ballot from your local county with the the state... and have it sent to your home of record in the US.,. you get the state version with everything.  We are back and forth enough where I never did overseas balloting.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Joey G said:

OK... I'm guessing if you just ask for an absentee ballot from your local county with the the state... and have it sent to your home of record in the US.,. you get the state version with everything.  We are back and forth enough where I never did overseas balloting.

In my case for Kentucky, it will be e-mailed to me so I can get it anyplace.  I think I can e-mail it back too.  If there are state and local election items on it, I will leave them blank.

[earthdome]

2 hours ago, Guy F. said:

If you don't vote you forfeit your right to complain about the results.

Rights are inherent to being a human being and have nothing to do with voting.

[Snowy79]

I heard in America if you're dead you get to vote twice.