Final Day For Absentee Ballot Submissions

The 2020 U.S. general elections will be held on November 3, 2020

At the federal level, voters will choose the U.S. president, 35 members of the U.S. Senate and all 435 voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives.  At the state level, 11 governorships will be decided, along with more than 5,000 state legislature seats.

Requested your absentee ballot, but haven’t received it? 

You can use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) if you have requested your state’s ballot by using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) but have not received it.  The FWAB is an alternative ballot for overseas and uniformed services voters whose state ballots are late.  You can fill out your FWAB online by using this FWAB link and then print it in order to sign it.   All U.S. states accept the FWAB by mail and some also accept FAX or email submissions.  You can find further information on your state’s submission options link.

Policies Vary by U.S. State 

Use this guide to find more information on your state’s specific voting guidelines and policies.  Most U.S. states do require that you have registered to vote or have submitted a request for ballot by filling out the FPCA and sending it to your state’s election office—whether you use the FWAB or your state ballot.

How can the U.S. Embassy help? 

The recommended deadline for timely delivery by U.S. mail for your ballot has passed.  You can still drop off your voted ballot at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers or someone can drop it off for you.  A ballot drop box is located at the main entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Algiers (05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir Ibrahimi, El-Biar).  Unfortunately, the Embassy cannot guarantee timely delivery of the ballot.  However, we will attempt a final deliver by courier service for all ballots received by the close of business of Monday, October 26, 2020.

Your ballots must be submitted to the Embassy in a sealed envelope.  The ballot must be addressed to your local election officials and either has sufficient U.S. (domestic) postage or be in a postage-paid envelope; a postage-paid flyer that can be used as an envelope or envelope cover is available on the at the Federal Voting Assistance Program forms section.  The Embassy will forward the ballot to the U.S. postal system which is why only domestic postage or postage-paid envelope are required.

Ballots can be dropped by presenting your U.S. passport or Algerian government-issued identification and stating that you are dropping off a ballot, Mondays through Thursdays between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm, excluding local and federal holidays.

Important Note:  Embassies and Consulates are not polling places.  Same day in-person voting is not available outside the United States.  

If you still have questions or need assistance, please contact U.S. Embassy Algiers Voting Assistance Officer at VoteALGIERS@state.gov  

Educate yourself on issues before you vote.  Some resources include: