Be an Active Voter by taking the necessary steps to vote in the 2020 U.S. elections and by participating in Absentee Voting Week!
Be sure to register now and be ready to send your vote by October 2nd! Whether you are a first–time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, we recommend that you complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) each year to ensure you are able to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter.
If you have already completed a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) in 2020 and requested electronic delivery of your ballot, you will receive your blank ballot or instructions to access your ballot soon. If you are not sure about the status of your absentee ballot request, you should contact your local election officials in the United States, or check the status of your registration via your state’s voter registration verification website.
You can get voting assistance from the U.S. Mission to Brazil, including assistance returning your completed voting forms and ballots to your local election officials. Please see below for specific instructions including contact information, mailing addresses for the U.S. Mission to Brazil, and how to make a drop-off appointment request.
Help Spread the Word About Overseas Voting
Please help spread the word to your family, friends, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting. Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot. Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.
If you have never voted while overseas before, it’s not too late. The process is easy — just follow these steps:
1. Complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
Whether you are a first-time voter or have voted absentee in past elections, we recommend that you complete an FPCA to receive your ballot this fall. It allows you to register to vote and request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (presidential and state primaries, run-off, special, and the November general elections) during the course of the year in which you submit the FPCA. Local election officials in all U.S. states and territories accept the FPCA.
The online voting assistant available at FVAP.gov is an easy way to complete the FPCA. It will ask you questions specific to your state and tell you if electronic ballot delivery is possible. No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state). Be sure to include your email address to take advantage of electronic delivery. The online voting assistant will generate a printable FPCA, which you can then print and sign.
2. Submit the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
Please see below instructions for mailing or dropping off an FPCA or ballot at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia or any of the U.S. Consulates General in Brazil. If it’s more convenient, you can have a friend or family member drop off your FPCA at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia or the nearest U.S. Consulate General on your behalf by appointment. Alternatively, you can send your FPCA or ballot directly to your local election officials via international mail or professional courier service at your own expense.
U.S. Embassy Brasilia
SES – Av. das Nações, Quadra 801, Lote 03,
70403-900 – Brasilia, DF.
Ballots can be mailed or dropped off with an appointment on Mondays and Fridays. For additional information, or to request an appointment, please contact Brasilia’s Voting Assistance Officer at votebrasilia@state.gov.
Note: Consular Agency Manaus is not accepting ballots at this time. U.S. citizens in Manaus should send their ballots to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia or to one of the U.S. Consulates General to be forwarded to the United States.
U.S. Consulate General Sao Paulo
Rua Henri Dunant 500, Chacara Santo Antonio,
04709-110 – Sao Paulo, SP.
Ballots can be mailed or dropped off with an appointment on Tuesdays and Fridays. For additional information, or to request an appointment, please contact São Paulo’s Voting Assistance Officer at votesaopaulo@state.gov.
U.S. Consulate General Rio de Janeiro
Avenida Presidente Wilson, 147 (Rua Mexico entrance) – Centro,
20030-020 – Rio de Janeiro, RJ.
Ballots can be mailed to the consulate or dropped off in the consular waiting room without an appointment, during working hours (9:00am to 4:00pm) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Consular Agency Salvador will accept ballots by mail or ballots can be dropped off by appointment. For additional information, or to request an appointment in Salvador, please contact Rio de Janeiro’s Voting Assistance Officer at voteriodejaneiro@state.gov.
U.S. Consulate General Recife
Rua Goncalves Maia, 163, Bairro Boa Vista,
50070-125 – Recife, PE.
U.S. Consulate General Recife is accepting ballots by mail only. For additional information please contact Recife’s Voting Assistance Officer at voterecife@state.gov.
Note: Consular Agency Fortaleza is not accepting ballots at this time. U.S. citizens in Fortaleza should send their ballots to the U.S. Embassy or one of the U.S. Consulates General to be forwarded to the United States.
U.S. Consulate General Porto Alegre
Rua Bezerra de Menezes, 82, Passo d’Areia,
91350-130 – Porto Alegre, RS.
Ballots can be mailed or dropped off by appointment. For additional information or to request an appointment, please contact Porto Alegre’s Voting Assistance Officer at voteportoalegre@state.gov.
3. Receive Your Ballot
After submitting your FPCA, most states allow you to confirm online your registration and ballot delivery selection. States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before an election (September 19) for federal office (President, U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives) to any overseas U.S. citizen who has completed an FPCA. Again, no matter which state you vote in, we encourage you on your FCPA to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state). Be sure to include your email address to take advantage of electronic delivery. The online voting assistant will generate a printable FPCA, which you can then print and sign.
4. Return Your Ballot
If you plan to return your paper ballot to your election officials via the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia or one of the U.S. Consulates General, we recommend that you deliver your ballot to the embassy or consulates by October 2 to account for transit times between overseas posts and local voting districts. If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you, place it in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You can download the postage paid envelope from the FVAP.gov website and follow the instructions above to either mail or drop off your ballot.
If there isn’t enough time to receive and send back your ballot before the election, use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). It is a backup ballot you can use if you don’t receive your ballot in a timely manner. If your official absentee ballot arrives after sending in the FWAB, fill out and send in the official ballot too. Only one ballot will be counted.
After you send in your ballot, you can check if it was received by your election office.
Your Vote Counts
Many U.S. elections within the past ten years have been decided by a margin of victory of less than 0.1%. All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline, which differs by state.
Be an educated voter. Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, and search the Internet to locate articles and information.
To receive information by email about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP’s Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook and Twitter.
If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact Mission Brazil’s Voting Assistance Officers at votebrasilia@state.gov; voteriodejaneiro@state.gov; votesaopaulo@state.gov; voterecife@state.gov, and voteporto@state.gov.
