Absentee Voters Week starts Sept. 27

  • Published
  • By David Falvey
  • Hanscom Installation Voting Assistance Officer
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  With less than 45 days prior to the general election, absentee voters should take steps to ensure their vote is counted. Absentee Voters Week, set for Sept. 27 through Oct. 4, has a dual focus. It is a week set aside to encourage absentee voters to register and request absentee ballots if they have not yet done so. It is also a time to encourage those who already have registered and received their ballots to complete and return them to their local election officials.

A table will be set up in the Base Exchange from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 with information and materials necessary to obtain an absentee ballot for November's elections. In addition, posters advocating Absentee Voters Week will be put up throughout the base.

As a result of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, starting with this year's election states must send ballots to military voters 45 days before the election, both by traditional mail and at least one means of electronic transmission such as email, fax or online ballot posting. Some states have adopted full internet voting for military and overseas civilian voters. The Installation Voting Assistance Officers (IVAO) at Hanscom are here to help with an array of voter assistance tools.

If voters have previously sent in their Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) requesting registration and an absentee ballot, but have not yet received their ballot, IVAOs can offer help in filling out and sending in the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to serve as a backup in case the regular absentee ballot doesn't reach the voter in time to fill in and return to their local election officials to be counted in the November election.

If voters have not taken any steps toward registering and casting their votes, they are encouraged to simultaneously fill in and send in both the FPCA and the FWAB.

The Department of Defense has taken steps to make absentee voting easier for military members, their families and federal employees working overseas. The process has now been automated. Voters can visit https://www.fvap.gov/r3/fpca/home to fill in the FPCA using a wizard that assists the absentee voter in filling in the form based on their particular state and county of residence.

If voters do not receive their ballot by Oct. 2, they should use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) as a back-up ballot. Similar to the FPCA Wizard, voters can visit https://www.fvap.gov/r3/fwab/home to fill in the FWAB using a wizard that assists the absentee voter in filling in the form based on their particular state and county of residence.

For each office for which they vote, voters write in either a candidate's name or their party designation. Once completed, the voter then prints out the form then signs and returns it to their local election official. The wizards produce a pdf package that includes a postage-paid envelope template, security envelope template, instructions to election officials, state-specific information and submission instructions, voter's declaration or affirmation and write-in ballot pre-populated with the information and candidates the voter entered in the FWAB wizard. If the state allows faxed returns, the wizard will prepare a fax cover sheet with the fax number to the local election official.

If voters receive their state ballot after submitting the FWAB, they should vote and return the state ballot as well. The state will only count the FWAB if the state ballot is not received by the deadline.

More information and assistance can be obtained from the Installation Voting Assistance Officers, David Falvey or Lt. Brandon Paquette. Mr. Falvey can be reached at 781-377-6679 and Lt. Paquette can be reached at 781-377-4666.