13 Comments

Thank you for sharing that super-helpful information, Nancy. So many folks don’t even know they CAN vote, or how easy it is through votefromabroad.org!

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Thanks for this post, and I couldn't agree more that voting in this midterm election is vitally important. Thanks for reminding people and pushing everyone to vote! When we were back in the states this past summer, we stopped by our local election office and gave them our updates addresses and registered for absentee ballots. Looking forward to receiving it any day now. We were also told if we didn't think our ballots would arrive in time back before election day, that we could email them (Oregon) and we would be able to cast our votes online.

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Thank you for this important post. And many thanks to Jon Carroll for jumping in to become a Dems Abroad PT leader after recent arrival.

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Thank you! Voting is one of the most important things I ALWAYS do. I wish everyone would!

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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is so important. And so well done! Thank you very much for posting this. I have shared it on my Facebook page. I hope many others do the same.

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Thank you for posting this, Nancy. My husband and I are moving to Tavira in March and we will definitely get signed up and happy to volunteer to help in any way when we get to Portugal.

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Love your posts, Nancy! This one’s definitely a keeper.

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Thank you for using your forum to state your views! It may not be popular to all of your readers, but at this time in our lives, in the currently political environment, we need to take bolder more courageous stands to ensure democracy lives on! Thank you for putting it out there!

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It is worth mentioning that you can use the diplomatic pouch at the U.S Embassy in Lisboa to return your ballot to the States. Just go to the embassy and they will direct you. There is a pouch that goes to Washington D.C. 2-3 times a week and from there they send it via U.S. Mail to the respective states. If you have access to the embassy (or possibly the consulate in Porto) I would trust this method over the Portuguese mail. Also some states, such as Florida, allow you to fax your ballot in. Your vote is no longer confidential, but you have assurances that it has been received. Look for fax apps in the Google or Apple stores.

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Thanks Greg…yes as we vote in FL we were able to fax in our ballots.

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This is true but I would caution that you need to allow at least four weeks for the diplomatic pouch, and Portugal voters in past elections reported that their ballots were not delivered in time. At Dems Abroad Portugal we recommend electronic methods or fax where possible, or registered mailing services such as FedEx or DHL when cost is not an obstacle.

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So . . . I tried to start preparing for FPCA voting, and found out Texas makes it virtually impossible for Mail in ballot or absentee voters. they require snail mail form to get there within 4 days of filling out online. among other obstacles! and if you mark Permanente overseas. they won't allow you to vote for state and local. Basically no point in trying :-(

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Armin, in an earlier post I included the information regarding “permanent” overseas and how this might impact voting. But please don’t be discouraged ….

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