2010 Voting Law Update

Week of February 15, 2010

Voting laws for 2010 for servicemembers have seen some significant changes.Now, servicemembers may not automatically receive absentee ballots outside the calendar year in which they send in their absentee ballot request. Some states may do more, but the federal law only guarantees absentee ballots for the calendar year in which the request is submitted. Therefore, Federal Voting Assistance Program recommends, including those deployed overseas, can only use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and not state registration and absentee ballot application forms to register to vote. Also, military voters must now submit a new Federal Post-Card Application (FPCA) every year and every time they move, deploy or redeploy overseas. Overseas civilian voters should also submit an application before every federal election. Finally, FVAP recommends that only the FPCA be used by military and overseas voters to ensure their voting rights are fully protected. As said, individual state laws may do more for military and overseas voters. For more information about voter registration, contact your unit's voting assistance officer, or visit the Federal Voters Assistance Program website (www.fvap.gov) and review the Voting Assistance Guide for more state specific details.