WARDEN MESSAGE

[meroberts]

U.S. Embassy Mexico City
Message for U.S. Citizens

Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots For November 6th Election

October 24, 2012

Embassies and consulates are not polling places. The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 6. U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2012 U.S. elections should already have returned their absentee ballots to their local election officials. U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States.

Ballot not yet sent to local election officials? All voters who wish to participate in this election who have not yet sent their ballots to their local election officials should consider returning their ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL. Some states or counties may allow you to return your voted ballot electronically. Check your state?s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.

Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax. The following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials: Arizona, California (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Check your state?s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.

Returning ballots via express courier service. Voters can hire express courier companies such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx to return voted ballots. Through October 31, FedEx is offering discounted shipping for last-minute voters in 94 countries through the Express Your Vote program https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/o...urVote.htm. Ballots sent to local election officials via express courier service do not receive standard postmarks, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 6 prior to payment and shipment.

Returning your ballot by mail. Ballots sent via mail at this late date are unlikely to reach local election officials by state ballot receipt deadlines. If you still wish to send your voted ballot via mail, place your voted ballot in a U.S. postage-paid envelope addressed to your local election officials. Drop it off at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City or one of the nine U.S. Consulates throughout Mexico, and we?ll send it back home for you without the need to pay international postage. If you can?t visit the Embassy or consulate in person, ask a friend or colleague drop it off for you. You are advised to use the Embassy/consulate to mail materials only if dropped at our locations at least 7 days before the state?s postmark deadline (allow extra time if the deadline is based on receipt not postmark). Due to the longer transit time (2-3 weeks), we no longer recommend dropping voting materials at the many U.S. consular agencies in Mexico. But any materials dropped at the Embassy, consulates, and consular agencies, will be forwarded in the diplomatic mail system since only the state election officials?not personnel in the Embassy or consulates?determine if it is timely. If using international commercial mail (as noted above this option is highly recommend if your state does not allow electronic return of the ballot) also be sure to allow sufficient time for international mail delivery.

Have Questions? Please contact a Voting Assistance Officer in the American Citizen Services Unit of U.S. Embassy Mexico City at ACSMexicoCity@state.gov or (55) 5080-2000 (dial 0 to ask for ACS regarding Voting Assistance).

Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.

NOTE: If you did not receive this message directly from ACSMexicoCity@state.gov, you are not enrolled with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City with your current email address and should re-enroll in the Smart Travelers Enrollment Program (STEP).