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Frequently Asked Questions

Georgia citizens who are either temporarily or permanently overseas and all active military personnel, including their spouses and dependents, are eligible to vote by absentee ballot under The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and Georgia state law.

Be a citizen of the United States
Be a legal resident of the county
Be at least 171/2 years of age to register and 18 years of age to vote
Not be serving a sentence for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude
Have not been found mentally incompetent by a judge

Your Voter Registration Application must be postmarked by close of business on the 5th Monday prior to the date of election. (See the UOCAVA Elections and Voter Registration Calendar for specific dates.)

Your request form must be completed, printed, signed, and dated. Georgia allows your request to be mailed, faxed or emailed (as attachment) to your local election office. These officials will handle the processing and distribution of your voter registration application and absentee ballots. They may need to contact you for further information or clarification. To facilitate this process, please provide a current email address, phone and fax number on your application.

When mailed from any U.S. post office, U.S. embassy or consulate, or APO/FPO mail facility, the hardcopy voter registration/absentee ballot form is postage-paid. In order to receive free postage, the online version of the form must be mailed in an envelope printed with the postage-paid envelope template. You may also mail the completed form in an envelope with proper postage affixed. Ensure that your form is postmarked (see postmarking instructions below) and sent to arrive before the deadline. You must pay postage if the materials are mailed from a non-U.S. postal facility.

A postmark is a postal marking made on a piece of mail indicating the date and time that the item was accepted by the postal service. Postmarks are used to determine if voting materials have been mailed by State deadlines. Due to varying mail pick up times, the day you 'mail' your election mail may not be the day the postal facility postmarks it. You may ask the mail clerk to hand stamp the election material so that a date is clearly visible.

NOTE: If you submitted an application during 2011 and requested all elections for which you are eligible, you will automatically receive your ballots for 2012.

Your county election office will review your application. If it is complete and you are otherwise qualified, the clerk will mail a ballot back to the address you specify on your application. If you requested electronic delivery of your ballot, you will receive instructions via the email address you specified on your application.

All ballots will be mailed or will be available for electronic delivery (depending on your FPCA preference) at least 45 days before an election. If you submit your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) after that time, your ballot will be mailed within 3 business days after receiving the FPCA. If you have not received your ballot 30 days before the election, contact your local election official. Always complete and return your absentee ballot regardless of when you receive it, even if you have already submitted a back-up Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) (explanation below). Your local election official will ensure that only one of the ballots is counted.

Be absent from your voting residence;
Have applied for a regular ballot early enough so the request is received by the appropriate local election official not later than the Friday prior to Election Day; AND
Have not received the requested regular absentee ballot from your county.

If the address listed on your application changes due to reassignment or if you return to the states, you will need to update your voter registration by contacting your county election office.

A spouse or dependent of a member referred to above who, by reason of the active duty or service of the member, is absent from the place of residence where the spouse or dependent is otherwise qualified to vote.

Military and their family members may change their legal residence every time they change permanent duty stations, or they may retain their legal residence without change. This may mean that the family's Uniformed Service member has a different legal voting residence than his/her family members. A Judge Advocate General officer or legal counsel should be consulted before legal residence is changed because there are usually other factors that should be considered besides voting.

If a U.S. citizen outside of the U.S. has never lived in the U.S. and either parent is a qualified Georgia voter, then he or she is eligible to register and vote where his or her parent is a qualified voter and also use the Federal Post Card Application.

Currently there are no provisions for personnel stationed outside the U.S. to vote in-person where stationed.

When completing block 7 of the Voter Registration/Absentee Ballot Request form, be sure to enter the entire mailing address of your last residence, including rural route and number. That address determines your proper voting jurisdiction.

There are no provisions for in-person voting or on-site registration at U.S. embassies or consulates. You may mail election materials from U.S. embassies and consulates. Remember to make sure that all election material is postmarked.