Our US military and overseas citizens have every right to participate in all elections for which they are eligible. Sometimes, these citizens are stationed in places where mail service is slow or non-existent, and where communications tools like phones and email that we may take for granted here aren’t readily available. The general rule of thumb is, the farther away you are, the harder it is to get (or even find) current information about an upcoming election. 

Nevada County Elections does everything possible to reach people wherever they are in the world, with the help of traditional resources and some modern tools to try and shorten the distance between our office and the voter.

Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). Within the United States Department of Defense, FVAP (commonly referred to as a single word “eff-vap”) is a group of dedicated public servants who work tirelessly to educate and inform the military and overseas citizen population and their families about upcoming elections. FVAP services include state specific information about voter registration and voting, information on ballot return options, and a directory for contacting local elections officials. FVAP also includes helpful resources for elections officials and others who help military and overseas citizens participate.

Families of UOCAVA Voters. By far the best way to reach UOCAVA voters is by getting information to their spouses and loved ones. When a service member knows that they will be stationed in a place that is hard to reach, more often than not they make sure that they know how to communicate with their spouses and children. Providing nonpartisan information to a military spouse is a powerful way to help those stationed overseas with elections and voting.

Voting Assistance Officer (VAO). In all branches of the military, a VAO is assigned to help service members better understand the voting process. VAOs may be members of the military, civilians, or members of overseas U.S. citizen organizations.

Federal Postcard Application (FPCA). The FPCA is a one-stop shop for a UOCAVA voter to register and request a mailed ballot. The voter can use one form to let elections officials know where their US address is and that they would like to be registered there. Because military families tend to move often, registration rules can get confusing–especially if the entire family lives overseas. The FPCA guides the service member to help them determine what their UOCAVA status is and their eligibility to register in a state. If a UOCAVA voter already knows that they reside in Nevada County, California, then they also have the option to use the state’s online voter registration form to indicate their status as a military or overseas voter, which then has the effect of automatically mailing them a ballot.

Early mailed ballots. Under the federal and state laws, all elections offices must mail UOCAVA voters a ballot starting 60 days before an election and no later than 45 days before that election. Of course, offices like Nevada County Elections will register any voter up until the registration deadline. But because UOCAVA voters are so far away, it might not be possible for the voter to get their ballot back in time if it is mailed too late. To ensure the timely delivery and return of a ballot, Congress decided that the 45-60 day time period was sufficient to serve UOCAVA voters.

Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail (RAVBM). One option that Nevada County’s UOCAVA voters have is to receive a ballot via RAVBM. In short, the voter accesses a secure portal that allows them to electronically receive a copy of their ballot and all the educational materials that go with it. RAVBM will also allow the voter to mark their ballot and print it out for delivery back to the elections office. In California, RAVBM systems must be certified by the state. Though the voter may receive a ballot electronically with RAVBM, they may not return a voted ballot electronically. Unlike domestic voters, UOCAVA voters have the option to fax their ballot to our office if mail is unavailable or not feasible.

Ballot Return by Facsimile Transmission (Fax). UOCAVA voters are the only type of voter allowed to return a ballot by fax. You might be asking yourself, “...fax machines still exist?” (You might even be asking yourself, “What’s a fax machine?”) FVAP and other elections policy experts agree that fax technology is close to being an outmoded type of communication, but also believe that email may present some security vulnerabilities. FVAP works with California and other states that do not accept a voted ballot by email and offers a service via the Department of Defense that will fax materials to the elections office on behalf of the voter.

Federal Write In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). If the UOCAVA voter never got a ballot for any reason, they have the option to mail in or fax the FWAB (commonly pronounced as a single word that rhymes with “swab”). Essentially, the FWAB is a back up ballot that allows the voter to write in their choices for any contests that they are eligible to vote on. The FWAB is treated like a live ballot that our office is happy to accept and prepare for counting.

BallotTrax. One of the biggest barriers to voting for a UOCAVA voter is lack of certainty that the ballot will be counted. One way to help bridge that divide is for elections offices to offer ballot tracking services. Just like you would track a package that you ordered from Amazon, ballot tracking services allow the voter to know whether the elections office got the ballot. In California, we proudly offer BallotTrax to all voters who want to sign up and we actively encourage UOCAVA voters to use the service to help increase their confidence that their ballot was received and counted. (Pro-tip: any California voter can sign up!)