Military and Overseas Voting

There are special voting options for active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Merchant Marine, their spouses and dependents, and U.S. citizens residing overseas. These are known as “UOCAVA voters.” There are also special voter registration options.

Further information for military and overseas voters is available through the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

Requesting Your Vote-by-Mail Ballot

You can use the Federal Post Card Application to register to vote and request a Vote-by-Mail ballot at the same time. The FPCA lets you specify if you want your ballot sent by forwardable mail, fax, or email.

You can also request your Vote-by-Mail ballot using any of the options available to other voters. See our Vote-by-Mail page for further information.

Delivery of Vote-by-Mail Ballot

We will send you your ballot within 45 days of Election Day. This is earlier than other voters and gives you additional time to receive and return your ballot. We will send it to you using the method you selected on your Vote-by-Mail ballot request.

Online Ballot Portal

We provide online ballot access to UOCAVA voters through Enhanced Ballot. This reduces delivery time as you can access your ballot shortly after we process your request. Note that you cannot return your ballot through the portal or by email.

If you are a UOCAVA voter and would like to use Enhanced Ballot, please contact us at (850) 606-8683 or VBM@LeonVotes.gov.

Completing and Returning Your Ballot

You will receive instructions with your ballot. Make sure to sign the certificate on the envelope. If you do not sign the certificate, or your signature does not match, your ballot may not count. We will attempt to contact you and give you the opportunity to fix the signature issue.

You can return your ballot using these options:

Mail: Mail your ballot well in advance of Election Day so the Post Office can deliver it in time for it to be counted.
Delivery Service: Enclose your ballot and signed certificate in a separate envelope and send by USPS Priority Mail, FedEx, UPS, or another carrier. Please send to our physical address at 2990-1 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, FL 32301.
Fax: If you are overseas (either civilian or military) you have the option to return your ballot and signed certificate by fax. This option is not available to absent domestic military voters. Instructions on how to fax your ballot are included with your ballot.

You cannot return your ballot by email.

Return Deadline

Normally, your ballot must be received by our office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. However, a 10-day extension exists for overseas voters (either civilian or military) in certain elections. Please note that this extended deadline does not apply to absent domestic military voters.

The extension applies in the following elections:

Presidential preference primary elections
General elections
Special elections (both primary and general)

To use this extension, your ballot must be postmarked or dated by Election Day and received within 10 days of Election Day.

Special Ballots

Two types of special Vote-by-Mail ballots are available to UOCAVA voters. These ballots help ensure that you can vote even if a problem may prevent you from voting normally.

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot

If Election Day is approaching and you have not received your Vote-by-Mail ballot, you can use a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot. It is a back-up option in case you requested your Vote-by-Mail ballot but never received it.

Follow the instruction on the form to complete and return it to our office.

State Write-in Absentee Ballots

If you believe that military service or other issues will prevent you from voting a regular Vote-by-Mail ballot, you can request a State Write-in Absentee Ballot. This option is available to overseas voters (both military and domestic). The State Write-in Absentee Ballot lists only the races. You then write-in the names of candidates or political parties for which you are voting.

If you would like to request a State-Write in Absentee Ballot, please contact us at Vote@LeonVotes.gov. We will make the ballot available to you starting 180 days before Election Day.