(U.S.) Anyone else had problem with voter reg/voting via U.S. Consulate BKK?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

To my surprise, I had a pretty considerable problem with the U.S. Consulate in BKK back in August when I went there to submit for mail forwarding my U.S. absentee voter registration papers for the upcoming presidential election. Just curious whether anyone here has run into any similar difficulties with them?

 

To their credit, the American Citizens Services unit there has been pretty proactive this year in sending out emails reminding and encouraging and instructing folks on how to handle their voter registration and voting activities from abroad. And for folks who have filled out either their voter registration or voting ballots, the ACS emails remind us that those (quoting from their emails) "can be mailed to the United States through the U.S. Embassy on-site Army Post Office (APO).  Address envelopes clearly, affix the correct U.S. postage, and drop off envelopes at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok American Citizen Services check-in window on Wireless Road."

 

And, following their advice, that's where the problem began. I had a retirement extension income affidavit appointment at ACS back in mid-August, so I took along a properly filled out, properly addressed and stamped voter registration envelope to submit at the ACS counter while there.  So, as anyone who's been there knows, you first check in with one officer at one window, and then later after some waiting, complete your paperwork with another officer at a second window. Which is exactly what I did that day while dealing with my income affidavit and (hopefully) submitting my voter registration envelope.

 

At the first check-in window, after doing my other business, I mentioned to the officer there that I also wanted to submit my U.S. voter registration envelope for them to forward onto the U.S., as per ACS's emailed instruction. Well, the first officer had no clue about the notion of them accepting voter registration envelopes, even though I CLEARLY explained what I was trying to do, and she advised to take up the matter with the other officer later who'd sign my income affidavit.

 

So sat around for awhile, finally was called by the second officer to the second windows, did my other business, and then made the same request re submitting my voter registration envelope. And, to my dismay, got the same blank look from the second officer, who told me she didn't think that they accepted voter registration envelopes for mailing. I pressed her on the subject of wanting to hand over my voter registration envelope, but she didn't want to accept it. And then, after checking around some at my insistence, she told me I should go outside into the courtyard where I'd find a box where I could submit my ballot. Well, I hadn't seen any box out in the courtyard, so I resisted that.  And finally, after more insisting on my part, the second officer finally, hesitantly accepted my voter registration envelope.

 

Now, the good news in this story is, some weeks later, I got the confirmation from my state back in the U.S. that my absentee voter registration had been received and accepted, so obviously, the envelope I submitted that day did finally go where it was supposed to go.  And, I could understand, that in any office bureaucracy, perhaps you're going to get one staffer/officer who isn't fully up on the duties and activities of their office. But when you go to ACS and get TWO different officers on the same visit who both are totally unaware of the voter registration submission role their office supposedly plays, that's a pretty poor showing in my book.

 

I've been busy with some other issues the past weeks. But the ACS experience left a bad taste in my mouth, especially coming during the run-up to the presidential election. So I finally ended up calling on the telephone to the Consulate this past week and asking to speak to their Voting Assistance Officer, which actually is a designated position there. Didn't get to that person, but did get to a woman who apparently was familiar with their voter registration and voting assistance duties. And politely told her I wanted to lodge a complaint for the reasons explained above and really just asked her to call the issue to the attention of the Voting Assistance Officer.

 

But FWIW, in the course of the conversation, the staffer I spoke with on the phone did confirm that the staff at the ACS counter inside the Consulate (where you need an appointment to go) are supposed to be familiar with the voting issues and be able to accept voter registration and voting ballot envelopes. But she also clarified something that really was unclear in the ACS emails, and that was that U.S. citizens are also supposed to be able to submit their election materials, 24/7 and without any appointment, at the security window at the front entrance to the Consulate. Back in the corner of that small office, she said, is a brown lockbox specifically placed there for collecting election material submissions. (The ACS emails talk about submitting them at the ACS check-in window, which I took to mean the indoors ACS check-in window, but may instead be referring to the front security office check-in window. Who knows...).

 

So, now that I've got a completed ballot to submit, I guess I'll be going back to the Consulate in a few days and will try to submit my ballot at the Consulate's security check-in window out front, and see if that goes any better than the indoors ACS counter did the last time around.

 

 

[tonray]

Ths only problem I had was when I realized there was nobody worthy of voting for...sigh

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Tonray

 

55555 & !!!

 

Mac

[Fookhaht]

Please tell me you know the difference between an embassy and a consulate, and I'll tell you whether your other efforts were born of accurate knowledge as well.  

[ubonjoe]

Have you read this pinned topic?

I did my registration/ballot request online, printed out the paperwork. signed it, scanned it and sent it by email to the country registrar.

Got my ballot by email, printed out the ballot,  plus a form to go with it and the postage free envelope to send it. Put the envelope addressed to the registrar in another envelope and sent it to the embassy by EMS as per the instructions from the election officer I posted in the pinned topic

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Have you read this pinned topic.

I did my registration/ballot request online, printed out the paperwork. signed it, scanned it and sent it by email to the country registrar.

Got my ballot by email, printed out the ballot,  plus a form to go with it and the postage free envelope to send it. Put the envelope to the registrar in another envelope and sent it to the embassy by EMS.

 

1. I had a retirement extension related appointment at ACS anyway at that time, so the trip to the Consulate was a necessity anyway.

 

2. I live within walking distance of the Consulate.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Fookhaht said:

Please tell me you know the difference between an embassy and a consulate, and I'll tell you whether your other efforts were born of accurate knowledge as well.  

 

I know the difference. What's your point?

 

The ACS unit is in the Consulate building on the left hand side of the road as you head from Sukhumvit Rd.

 

Edited October 17, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lopburi3]

Actually that (Consulate area) was an addition built onto the Embassy about 35 years ago and the actual Embassy occupied the main building until building the new facility across the street (which was formally a housing area).

Edited October 17, 2016 by lopburi3

[Fookhaht]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I know the difference. What's your point?

 

I don't think you do know the difference.  There is no U.S. consulate in Bangkok.  

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And this has anything even remotely to do with being able (or not able) to submit voter registration/voting ballots at the ACS office in BKK how???

[gk10002000]

still sad that in this electronic age the USA has no online voting system.  We can do banking for millions of dollars, buy and shop for anything, secure transactions all over the place, yet we can't or won't come up with a proper electronic voting system

[ubonjoe]

6 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

still sad that in this electronic age the USA has no online voting system.  We can do banking for millions of dollars, buy and shop for anything, secure transactions all over the place, yet we can't or won't come up with a proper electronic voting system

I was able to vote real close to being able to do everything online. The first step was online and after that it was by email. The only part done by snail mail was sending the actual ballot to the states via the embassy.

Checked online this morning and my ballot was received by the country registrar yesterday.

I think there a few states that allow you send the ballot by email.

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And this has anything even remotely to do with being able (or not able) to submit voter registration/voting ballots at the ACS office in BKK how???

Some people just cannot give up bugging people about a minor terminology error.

People mix up embassies and consulates all the time. In the case of an embassy they have a consular section and people call it a consulate.

It gets even worse when you toss honorary consulates into the mix and what they can do verses a official consulate.

[lopburi3]

12 hours ago, Fookhaht said:

I don't think you do know the difference.  There is no U.S. consulate in Bangkok.  

 

Actually all Embassies have a Consulate section and it may be within or outside the actual Embassy building.  In the case of Bangkok it is now across the street from the Embassy.  Consulates may also be located in other cities so there may be more than one in a country (as is the case for Thailand).  But in many cases the only Consulate is co-located within the Embassy.  

[Fookhaht]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually all Embassies have a Consulate section and it may be within or outside the actual Embassy building.  In the case of Bangkok it is now across the street from the Embassy.  Consulates may also be located in other cities so there may be more than one in a country (as is the case for Thailand).  But in many cases the only Consulate is co-located within the Embassy.  

 Thank you for the added clarification.  While I cannot find the term "consulate" used for the embassy (or its annexes or separate-but-nearby offices), I can only find "consular services."  If that morphs it into an official "consulate,"  then so be it.  But still a bit strange to me, as to the common usage of "consulate" per the article I quoted.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So, not sure what to conclude re the question I posed in my OP...

 

Thus far, no one else has mentioned having any similar problem with submitting voting materials at ACS BKK.

 

But also, no one else here has mentioned TRYING to submit their voting materials in person at the ACS-BKK counter.

 

[Dipterocarp]

Not an Consulate but I thought the US Embassy had a Consular Section.


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[GinBoy2]

On 10/17/2016 at 11:24 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So, not sure what to conclude re the question I posed in my OP...

 

Thus far, no one else has mentioned having any similar problem with submitting voting materials at ACS BKK.

 

But also, no one else here has mentioned TRYING to submit their voting materials in person at the ACS-BKK counter.

 

I 'think' the majority of us have only interacted with the embassy by mail, sending our ballots through the APO. Sounds like you have just been unlucky

[taxout]

"Address envelopes clearly, affix the correct U.S. postage, . . ."

So you need to rustle up some U.S. postage stamps before heading to Wireless Road and dropping it in the box?

[GinBoy2]

3 hours ago, taxout said:

"Address envelopes clearly, affix the correct U.S. postage, . . ."

So you need to rustle up some U.S. postage stamps before heading to Wireless Road and dropping it in the box?

Your ballot will come with a pre-paid address label

 

 

Edited October 22, 2016 by GinBoy2

[GinBoy2]

[taxout]

I was referring to registering for a ballot, not returning the ballot.

In any event, if you don't have U.S. stamps lying around, apparently you can print a postage-paid template on the envelopes from this site:

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

Edited October 22, 2016 by taxout

[GinBoy2]

5 minutes ago, taxout said:

I was referring to registering for a ballot, not returning the ballot.

In any event, if you don't have U.S. stamps lying around, apparently you can print a postage-paid template on the envelopes from this site:

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

As for registering, everything can be done online, you don't need to mail anything

[ubonjoe]

9 hours ago, taxout said:

I was referring to registering for a ballot, not returning the ballot.

In any event, if you don't have U.S. stamps lying around, apparently you can print a postage-paid template on the envelopes from this site:

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

When I registered online part of the info I got included a page that could be used to print a postage free envelope with mine and the registrars office  address on it. But my state allowed me to print the registration, sign it, scan it and send it to them by email.

When I mailed my ballot I used the template for that envelope to print the envelope I put the secure ballot envelope and a form in I needed to complete and send with the ballot envelope.

9 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

As for registering, everything can be done online, you don't need to mail anything

Not all states allow you to do everything online.