American expats and Absentee Voting

[moontang]

I got my ballot a few days ago... What hours can you drop off at Embassy?  Do you need ID and/or passport? Is there a simple solution to printing out their postage paid envelope?  It only took them two tries at my cmu copy shop, but now I am in bkk.  Thanks. 

[MrBrad]

17 hours ago, moontang said:

I got my ballot a few days ago... What hours can you drop off at Embassy?  Do you need ID and/or passport? Is there a simple solution to printing out their postage paid envelope?  It only took them two tries at my cmu copy shop, but now I am in bkk.  Thanks. 

In Chiang Mai, I don't know about Bangkok, you can drop off your ballot at the guard's window at the Consulate 24 hours a day (maybe daylight hours would be better though).  No ID or passport is needed.  Just hand your envelope to the guard at the window.  Make sure that the envelope is addressed to your polling place in the States, and that there's sufficient US postage on it or that it's already postage-paid, in which case no additional postage is required .

[holy cow cm]

3 hours ago, MrBrad said:

In Chiang Mai, I don't know about Bangkok, you can drop off your ballot at the guard's window at the Consulate 24 hours a day (maybe daylight hours would be better though).  No ID or passport is needed.  Just hand your envelope to the guard at the window.  Make sure that the envelope is addressed to your polling place in the States, and that there's sufficient US postage on it or that it's already postage-paid, in which case no additional postage is required .

I don't see the printable postage free envelope. Where did you find it?

[NancyL]

4 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

I don't see the printable postage free envelope. Where did you find it?

https://www.fvap.gov/eo/overview/materials/forms

[MrBrad]

NOTE:  I just received this email from the Secretary of State:

 

Drop off Ballots: U.S. citizens may drop off their voting materials during normal business hours at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok or at the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai in the voting boxes located at the American Citizen Services security entrance.  Bring your U.S. passport or other photo ID to show the guards when you arrive.  U.S. citizen employees of the Department of State are responsible for the handling of all ballots.  Please make sure your envelope is signed, sealed, and addressed to your district office.  It also must include U.S. postage, or use a postage-paid envelope.  You can find postage-paid envelopes available for download at this link: https://www.fvap.gov/eo/overview/materials/forms.

Pro Tip: You can print the postage-paid envelope on regular paper, then tape it to your envelope when you are preparing your ballot to be sent. 

[holy cow cm]

5 hours ago, NancyL said:

https://www.fvap.gov/eo/overview/materials/forms

Thank you Nancy. I have not done it this way before from here. But if I print the free within USA envelope and then drop it off at our CM Consulate, will they send it to the USA that way? I am considering faxing again if I can find a shop that can get through (last time could not send), or send by Fed Ex or DHL because of the mail fiasco going in with Trump. But it is early and if the Consulate can do no problem that way then my thing is by not.
 

Your thoughts? 

[MrBrad]

US postage or postage-free markings must be on envelopes dropped off at the Embassy or Consulate.  The US Embassy and Consulate does not use the Thai postal service for official government mail.  (Other, garden-variety, personal correspondence and packages can not be sent via the Embassy or Consulate.)  Your ballot is government mail.  Somehow they send all government mail in a pouch back to the United States on a plane; it's magic, I guess.  Once the pouch arrives in the US, its contents are then taken to a US postal center to be mailed on to the intended recipients. 

[moontang]

19 hours ago, MrBrad said:

NOTE:  I just received this email from the Secretary of State:

 

Drop off Ballots: U.S. citizens may drop off their voting materials during normal business hours at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok or at the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai in the voting boxes located at the American Citizen Services security entrance.  Bring your U.S. passport or other photo ID to show the guards when you arrive.  U.S. citizen employees of the Department of State are responsible for the handling of all ballots.  Please make sure your envelope is signed, sealed, and addressed to your district office.  It also must include U.S. postage, or use a postage-paid envelope.  You can find postage-paid envelopes available for download at this link: https://www.fvap.gov/eo/overview/materials/forms.

Pro Tip: You can print the postage-paid envelope on regular paper, then tape it to your envelope when you are preparing your ballot to be sent. 

Thanks, Brad.  You answered my biggest question, and that was about cutting and pasting.  And you do need ID...that is something that has gone back and forth..in 2016, I had to empty my pockets..the guard picked up my lighter, which had a 20 year old Japanese girl in a bikini on it...He gave it a big smile, and I went to the window..other years there are reports you can simply drop it off.

[elektrified]

No need to even leave your house! Just email your signed and scanned ballot (or PDF) to [email protected]  They will fax it for you.

 

(From a voter assistance group in Bangkok): "If you do not have a fax machine or you do not want to pay overseas IDD charges, the Federal Voter Assistance Project (fvap.gov) has a free fax service. You scan your ballot, and email the ballot scan to [email protected].

The service is described on an FAQ here:

https://www.fvap.gov/guide/appendix/faq

See the heading, "What is the DoD Fax Service?"

Edited September 24, 2020 by elektrified

[moontang]

1 hour ago, elektrified said:

No need to even leave your house! Just email your signed and scanned ballot (or PDF) to [email protected]  They will fax it for you.

 

(From a voter assistance group in Bangkok): "If you do not have a fax machine or you do not want to pay overseas IDD charges, the Federal Voter Assistance Project (fvap.gov) has a free fax service. You scan your ballot, and email the ballot scan to [email protected].

The service is described on an FAQ here:

https://www.fvap.gov/guide/appendix/faq

See the heading, "What is the DoD Fax Service?"

Not allowed in Virginia, which oddly is where that 703 area code is based.  Ballot request was a different matter.  Check with your perspective state.

Edited September 24, 2020 by moontang

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 9/24/2020 at 10:25 PM, elektrified said:

No need to even leave your house! Just email your signed and scanned ballot (or PDF) to [email protected]  They will fax it for you.

 

(From a voter assistance group in Bangkok): "If you do not have a fax machine or you do not want to pay overseas IDD charges, the Federal Voter Assistance Project (fvap.gov) has a free fax service. You scan your ballot, and email the ballot scan to [email protected].

The service is described on an FAQ here:

https://www.fvap.gov/guide/appendix/faq

See the heading, "What is the DoD Fax Service?"

 

AFAIK, only a limited number of states will accept faxed in ballots, regardless of from whom they're being faxed. And those are in the minority among all states, from what I recall.

 

I know that Texas, for instance, doesn't accept faxed in ballots, except from activate duty service members stationed in combat zones, AFAIR.

 

I guess the question is, is the above referenced DOD (U.S. Dept. of Defense) service open to non-active military folks, and will the recipient county voting officials accept faxed ballots from non-military folks?

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[NancyL]

Recently, a quirk in the election rules in sixteen states has been in the news -- the need for a "secrecy sleeve", or second blank envelope containing your ballot that is placed inside the envelope used to mail your ballot, with your return address.  This was the reason that the ballots in Pennsylvania had been discarded; they weren't in the secrecy sleeve and thus were "naked ballots" and disqualified.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-legal-ballots-explainer-idUSKCN26F3GU

 

Here is complete list of states that require the use of a secrecy sleeve:

 

Alaska

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Kentucky

Minnesota

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Dakota

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

 

Many of these states will segregate and count naked ballots if the election is close, but the Trump campaign is filing suits to stop this practice, as they did in Pennsylvania, since Democrats tend to vote by mail more than Republicans.  If your home state is on list list -- be warned and invest in a second envelope for your ballot.

[willbartholomew]

FYI. I received my absentee ballot via email. I mailed it back (required by my state) via EMS (880 baht). It arrived at it's destination in 10 days and I was able to track it the whole way. A bit expensive but very reliable service.

[dingdongrb]

Who in their right mind would vote for either of those two imbeciles? After seeing a video of the debate I have given up all hope of having a great leader.

[EVENKEEL]

Does anyone have the problem after voting of being called in for Jury Duty?  So if I return to the states I'll have a warrant for failure to appear.

[dingdongrb]

3 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Does anyone have the problem after voting of being called in for Jury Duty?  So if I return to the states I'll have a warrant for failure to appear.

If you were to get a Jury Duty notification just call in and tell them you're out of the country. They would then cancel your requirement to go.

[EVENKEEL]

2 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

If you were to get a Jury Duty notification just call in and tell them you're out of the country. They would then cancel your requirement to go.

I'm in Thailand, my mailing addresses are in the states. As a merchant seaman this has been a problem for many years as I had no one at home to monitor mail.

[dingdongrb]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm in Thailand, my mailing addresses are in the states. As a merchant seaman this has been a problem for many years as I had no one at home to monitor mail.

So nobody checks in on your residence in the USA to see that it hasn't been broken into or burnt down? No neighbors you can trust to keep from having your mail pile up for weeks/months?

 

Do you have a residence in Thailand as well as the USA? If so why not put in a change of address for Thailand? 

 

When I was in a similar situation years ago I did a change of address to have all my mail go to my brother's residence which was 1k miles away from my USA residence. Thus, no mail going to my residence in the USA.

 

 

[EVENKEEL]

8 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

So nobody checks in on your residence in the USA to see that it hasn't been broken into or burnt down? No neighbors you can trust to keep from having your mail pile up for weeks/months?

 

Do you have a residence in Thailand as well as the USA? If so why not put in a change of address for Thailand? 

 

When I was in a similar situation years ago I did a change of address to have all my mail go to my brother's residence which was 1k miles away from my USA residence. Thus, no mail going to my residence in the USA.

 

 

My properties are rented out. My mailing addresses are scattered between 3 addresses. A PO box and relatives. Won't bother to have them monitor all my mail. So, I don't vote. Simple, simple.

[dingdongrb]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

My mailing addresses are scattered between 3 addresses. A PO box and relatives. Won't bother to have them monitor all my mail.

That's sounds pretty messed up. Seems like you're just making problems for yourself with that scenario. Why would anyone have 3 different mailing addresses and none of them are going directly to you?

 

As for me, I do everything online so all 'junk mail' was discarded by my brother and the only thing of real mail that needed to get to me were things like 'jury duty' and property tax notifications.

[EVENKEEL]

4 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

That's sounds pretty messed up. Seems like you're just making problems for yourself with that scenario. Why would anyone have 3 different mailing addresses and none of them are going directly to you?

 

As for me, I do everything online so all 'junk mail' was discarded by my brother and the only thing of real mail that needed to get to me were things like 'jury duty' and property tax notifications.

It's nice to have family. Used to have your deal till brother and sisters died. Pay all my bills online or over the phone. And that included property taxes and Insurance.

[dingdongrb]

23 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's nice to have family. Used to have your deal till brother and sisters died. Pay all my bills online or over the phone. And that included property taxes and Insurance.

Sorry that you don't have any living immediate family, I'm sure it won't be too many years as I'll be in the same situation but I'll probably go before the two of them do. If not I have a chitload of nephews and nieces that would probably assist, if needed.

 

You still didn't answer as to why you have 3 different mailing addresses, sounds crazy but I'm sure you have a reasonable explanation.

[elektrified]

On 9/27/2020 at 11:55 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

AFAIK, only a limited number of states will accept faxed in ballots, regardless of from whom they're being faxed. And those are in the minority among all states, from what I recall.

 

I know that Texas, for instance, doesn't accept faxed in ballots, except from activate duty service members stationed in combat zones, AFAIR.

 

I guess the question is, is the above referenced DOD (U.S. Dept. of Defense) service open to non-active military folks, and will the recipient county voting officials accept faxed ballots from non-military folks?

 

I emailed my ballot to FVAP and have already received confirmation from the DoD that my ballot was successfully transmitted to the Office of the Recorder/Registrar in the State I am registered to vote.

 

If you read the above link, non-military / overseas voters can use the same service as the military use.

 

Edit: it took 2 tries as the first time I was not aware of the required FVAP Fax cover page in which signature is required. Signature is required on both the FVAP cover sheet and the ballot oath. Went through just fine the 2nd time around. Received confirmation in about 48 hours time.

Edited October 1, 2020 by elektrified

[moontang]

I got growled at for snapping a photo of the Seal.  Never fails, embassy staff are rude.  

[NancyL]

Your official voting address is the last place where you voted.  In our case, it's a farm in Michigan that we sold shortly after coming to Thailand.  When we first registered to vote from Thailand at our Michigan township office, they ignored our email, so I called them and the township clerk said "aren't you those folks who sold the rose nursery and moved to Taiwan"?  Well, close enough but I explained how the Consulate had told us we are still considered Michigan residents for voting purposes and emailed the relevant law to her.  That was the last time we were questioned about this and the township clerk has always kept us informed about every election by email.  Voting has never triggered a summons for jury duty, because they know we're voting from overseas. 

 

We use a commercial mail forwarding service in Miami, Florida as our U.S. postal address, but some mail, such as mail related to voting, Social Security and the IRS is sent directly to us in Thailand.  The Miami address is useful to use with our U.S. bank, investment firm, life insurance, and for online shopping.  We never get a jury summons in Florida, because we're not voting from there. 

[moontang]

I have received the card before about jury duty.  Quite easy to fix.  I think they would have to serve you a summons with certified mail, or in person before you could be criminally charged.  The DMV also seems to trigger them.  It's best to have a US address, but I can understand people run out of options.  I know a broke foreign teacher (redundant), who didn't have the wherewithal to get his 1200...but actually tries to borrow from the locals.  I wonder how much a foreign address would affect one's credit scores.

Edited October 1, 2020 by moontang

[dingdongrb]

2 hours ago, NancyL said:

Your official voting address is the last place where you voted.  In our case, it's a farm in Michigan that we sold shortly after coming to Thailand.  When we first registered to vote from Thailand at our Michigan township office, they ignored our email, so I called them and the township clerk said "aren't you those folks who sold the rose nursery and moved to Taiwan"?  Well, close enough but I explained how the Consulate had told us we are still considered Michigan residents for voting purposes and emailed the relevant law to her.  That was the last time we were questioned about this and the township clerk has always kept us informed about every election by email.  Voting has never triggered a summons for jury duty, because they know we're voting from overseas. 

 

We use a commercial mail forwarding service in Miami, Florida as our U.S. postal address, but some mail, such as mail related to voting, Social Security and the IRS is sent directly to us in Thailand.  The Miami address is useful to use with our U.S. bank, investment firm, life insurance, and for online shopping.  We never get a jury summons in Florida, because we're not voting from there. 

I never considered a commercial mail forwarding service, great idea, thanks.

 

Funny as I seem to have the same problem where folks say 'Taiwan' instead of Thailand even right after I say Thailand.

 

Michigan, hmmmmmm......  would it hurt you feelings if I said, 'GO BUCKEYES'!   ????

[NancyL]

On 10/1/2020 at 5:50 PM, moontang said:

I have received the card before about jury duty.  Quite easy to fix.  I think they would have to serve you a summons with certified mail, or in person before you could be criminally charged.  The DMV also seems to trigger them.  It's best to have a US address, but I can understand people run out of options.  I know a broke foreign teacher (redundant), who didn't have the wherewithal to get his 1200...but actually tries to borrow from the locals.  I wonder how much a foreign address would affect one's credit scores.

I doubt we have a credit score any more and that could be a problem if we have to return and rent an apartment.  The only "debt" we have are two U.S.-issued credit cards that we pay in full each month. 

 

A couple years ago I tried to check our credit score online and was asked questions about vehicles and equipment we financed over 15 years ago.  Trouble is, with the farm, we financed trucks, tractors, cars, equipment, etc, all in my name and I can't remember the monthly payments for all our various loans. I know we had a good credit score then, but I suspect it looks like we dropped off the earth now.  We don't even have U.S. drivers licenses.     

[moontang]

7 hours ago, NancyL said:

I doubt we have a credit score any more and that could be a problem if we have to return and rent an apartment.  The only "debt" we have are two U.S.-issued credit cards that we pay in full each month. 

 

A couple years ago I tried to check our credit score online and was asked questions about vehicles and equipment we financed over 15 years ago.  Trouble is, with the farm, we financed trucks, tractors, cars, equipment, etc, all in my name and I can't remember the monthly payments for all our various loans. I know we had a good credit score then, but I suspect it looks like we dropped off the earth now.  We don't even have U.S. drivers licenses.     

If you still have the cards and use them, you will be on the current credit databases.  Chase and Capital One have free score checks within their websites/apps.  Might be easier to verify yourself there..as opposed to creditkarma, which requires a vpn, here.  I would want to make sure no one was setting up accounts using my name, even if I never intended to return.  

Edited October 3, 2020 by moontang

[Mekong Bob]

Absentee Ballot completed, dropped off at US ConGen one month ago.  Unable to find website where I can track. Pennsylvania.  crickets