Voting from Tunisia
U.S. Embassy Tunis
Message for U.S. Citizens
Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots
29 October 2012
Embassies and consulates are not polling
places. The majority of states
require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls
on Tuesday, November 6. U.S. citizens
who want to participate in the 2012 U.S. elections should already have returned
their absentee ballots to their local election officials. U.S. embassies and consulates
are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the
United States.
Ballot not yet sent to local election officials? All voters who wish to participate in this election who have not yet sent their ballots to their local election officials should consider returning their ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL. Some states or counties may allow you to return your voted ballot electronically. Check your state’s voting procedures at http://www.fvap.gov/vao/guide.html for guidance.
Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax. The following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials: Arizona, California (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Check your state’s voting procedures at www.fvap.gov/vao/guide.html for guidance.
Returning ballots via express courier service. Last-minute voters can use the Tunisian Poste Rapide service, which is similar to courier services such as FedEx, UPS and DHL, to send their voted ballots to all states and territories except Alabama. Express courier companies cannot deliver to post office boxes, so you will need to know the street address of your local voting official in the United States. Mail sent by express courier companies is not postmarked, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 6 prior to payment and shipment.
Returning your ballot by mail. For most states, ballots sent via mail at this late date are unlikely to reach local election officials by state ballot receipt deadlines. If you still wish to send your voted ballot via mail, place your voted ballot in a U.S. postage-paid envelope addressed to your local election officials. Mailing addresses for local election officials and state mailing deadlines can be found in the Voting Assistance Guide, available on-line at http://www.fvap.gov/. Drop it off at the Embassy, and we’ll send it back home for you without the need to pay international postage. If you can’t visit the Embassy in person, ask a friend or colleague drop it off for you. Diplomatic pouch to the East Coast takes approximately two weeks. Processing of mail at the diplomatic pouch facility in the Washington, D.C. area and onward delivery by the U.S. Postal Service to local election officials across the U.S. can take another one to four days. The Consular Section will place a date stamp and seal on your ballot as evidence of the date and location from which the ballot was mailed. However, this is not a postmark. If it’s easier for you to use Tunisia's postal system, be sure to affix sufficient international postage. Mailing time varies and is unpredictable.
Need help? You can get in-person assistance from our Embassy Voting Assistance Officers by coming to the Embassy’s Consular Section any time Monday through Friday. Please note that the Embassy will be closed on Friday, October 26 for a Tunisian holiday.
Have Questions? Please contact the Embassy’s Voting Assistance Officer at consulartunis@state.gov.
Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.
END U.S. CITIZEN MESSAGE