Military and Overseas Voters
Instructions to Military and Overseas Voters
Jim McCauley, County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters
Elections Office
2956 Richardson Drive
PO Box 5278
Auburn, CA 95604
(530) 886-5650
E-mail: vote@placer.ca.gov
Consolidated General Election
November 2, 2010
If you are a US citizen, a registered voter in Placer County and in the military or overseas and you wish to obtain a mail ballot for the above mentioned election, there are provisions to receive a Vote-by-Mail ballot. To do this you will need to e-mail a request to the Placer County Office of Elections at vote@placer.ca.gov no later than September 3, 2010. After this date you may still request an electronic ballot so e-mail us today! In your request for an e-ballot indicate that you would like to receive your official ballot electronically and include your full name, Placer County residence address, current mailing address and date of birth. To assist us in directing your e-mail, please type the following into the subject line: E-Ballot Request 11/2/2010.
State law requires that we send a paper ballot to our military and overseas voters at approximately sixty days before the election, on or around September 3, 2010. If you do not opt to receive your ballot via e-mail you will automatically receive a ballot via regular mail.
Once the Placer County Office of Elections has received your request we will e-mail you an official ballot in PDF format so you can print it out and cast your vote. After you have voted your ballot, immediately mail or fax it back to the Placer County Office of Elections at: (530) 886-5682. Please note that you may need to dial an international access code if you are dialing from another country. Along with the ballot you will receive an “Oath of Voter” Statement and Identification Envelope. The statement signed by the voter acknowledges that by returning the voted ballot via fax transmission, the voter has relinquished his/her right to a secret ballot, is a resident of Placer County and a voter of that precinct. The ballot cannot be counted unless accompanied in the same transmission with the signed Oath of Voter Statement, and the completed Identification Envelope containing the voter’s signature.
The voted ballot, the Oath of Voter Statement, and the Identification Envelope must be received by the Office of Elections no later than 8:00 P.M. Pacific Time on November 2, 2010 or the ballot cannot be counted. Postmarks cannot be accepted.
This program has successfully assisted voters since 2002 when it was developed to avoid disenfranchisement of overseas military voters, their overseas spouses and dependents, and other registered voters temporarily residing abroad. Under normal circumstances, many of these voters have a difficult time obtaining, voting and returning their ballots in time to be counted. For this election, the increased number of men and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere compounds this difficulty. We hope that by offering this service all those who are overseas will have the opportunity to vote.
Definition of UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) voters: Citizens who are members of the Uniformed Services, merchant marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the family members of the above and overseas citizens. Uniformed Services are defined as the U.S. Armed Forces, (Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard), merchant marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and the National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration and family members of all of the above. Overseas citizens are defined as citizens who reside outside the United States.
If you have any questions regarding this process please contact our office directly at (530) 886-5650 or via e-mail at vote@placer.ca.gov. Placer County contact information can also be found at the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) website. Their website address is www.overseasvotefoundation.org. OVF’s website features a complete election official directory for all fifty states and United States territories, an overseas voter registration/absentee (vote-by-mail) ballot request wizard (RAVA) and a voter help desk.
For additional absentee (Vote-by-Mail) voting information and online forms for uniformed and overseas citizens go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website at www.fvap.gov.
The FVAP website provides an overview of the FVAP as well as electronic access to many of the materials and publications provided by FVAP. In addition, it contains links to state government homepages and other sites with election information. The website is updated on a regular basis to provide the most current information and news for uniformed and overseas citizens. The website also contains information on all FVAP initiatives, e.g., Get-Out-the-Vote Campaign, the Ombudsman Service, Electronic Transmissions (faxing) System, and the State Legislative Initiative Programs. Information and online forms such as the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA, SF-76) and the Federal Write-In Absentee (Vote-By-Mail) Ballot (FWAB, SF-186) can be viewed or downloaded on the website. You can also contact the Secretary of State’s website for more information.