Public Services
Voting Information for US Citizens in Botswana
September 26, 2006
Election Day in the United States is Tuesday, November 07, 2006! The Federal Voting Assistance Program website (www.fvap.gov) is the official non-partisan U.S. government website for voting information. The fvap.gov website provides information for all U.S. Citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA ). This website contains links to each state, a downloadable Federal Post Card Application (FCPA), addresses and links for local election officials, and a downloadable Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). On the FVAP website, voters can also find important news releases and links to non-partisan sources of information on candidates, their voting records, and ballot initiatives. The FVAP website also has a page devoted to links to political parties and to overseas citizens groups.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR AMERICANS RESIDENT ABROAD
Embassy Gaborone’s Consular staff will assist you with questions related to voting. Outlined below are the three easy steps necessary to guarantee your successful participation in this most important of civic duties while overseas.
1. You must register as an overseas absentee voter with your local registrar of voters in the United States. Federal law allows all American Citizens resident overseas to register to vote in the last jurisdiction in which they lived before leaving the United States (or to continue their registration). This can be accomplished with a federal form called the Federal Post Card Application found on www.fvap.gov or by writing a letter to your registrar of voters. Most states accept this request via facsimile. Contact phone numbers for counties/parishes/cities are also available on www.fvap.gov, along with links to specific information by state. Citizens should note that most jurisdictions will not mail ballots to absentee voters until thirty (30) days before an election.
2. Once you receive your absentee ballot by regular mail, you may take it to the Consular Section at the embassy to send it to the U.S. via diplomatic pouch. The consular staff will accept your envelope and the consul will affix a date and seal to it. If required by your state, the consul will also notarize your ballot without fee. While most absentee ballots are accompanied by postage-free envelopes, some may not. Please verify this yourself as your ballot will not be delivered by the U.S. postal service without US postage or a postage-paid envelope. Also note that the diplomatic pouch may take as long as two weeks to reach Washington, D.C.
You must plan accordingly. The embassy regrets that it cannot sell or distribute US postage stamps to voters.
3. In the event that you do not receive your absentee ballot three weeks before it is due, you are entitled to complete a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) in its place. The FWAB is available in the consular section for anyone who has not received an absentee ballot by mail in time to return it. While federal law allows all voters to use this ballot for federal office, some states may not permit you to use it to vote for state or local office. Voters are responsible for obtaining the names of candidates and initiatives that appear on the ballot in their jurisdiction for FWAB purposes. The consular section cannot provide this information. The FWAB can be submitted to the consular section for diplomatic pouch without US postage. Remember that you must have already requested an absentee ballot and be resident in Botswana in order to qualify for use of the FWAB.
A note on shipment: While overseas residents are authorized use of the diplomatic pouch for absentee voting, voters may also choose to send their ballots back to the U.S. via Botswana Post or commercial carrier. Commercial carrier is the most reliable and expeditious way to ensure the ballot reaches your registrar of voters intact and in time.
Contact information:
Consular Section
U.S. Embassy Gaborone
consulargaboro@state.gov
+267 3953982 x5324/5320
This site is managed by the U.S. Department of State.
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