Absentee Voting

David Gilefski in the Department of Elections office in New Castle County

• Phone: (302) 577-5066

• A Uniformed Service member;
• A Uniformed Service family member; or
• A U.S. citizen who lives outside the United States.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program provides resources for military service members, their families, and overseas U.S. citizens to assist them in exercising their fundamental right to vote.

Ask the Department of Elections office in your county if you have questions.

• A person who is disabled, a uniformed service member, a uniformed service family member, or a person who lives outside the United States and who requests permanent absentee status.
• A voter who is automatically sent an absentee ballot for every election in which he/she is eligible to vote.
• A permanent absentee voter does not have to apply for every election.
• A permanent absentee voter must keep the Department's office in their county informed of their address, email address and other contact information.

A person remains a permanent absentee voter until:

• Return of correspondence to the Department as undeliverable,
• The person's death or disqualification,
• Cancellation of the person's voter registration,
• Upon request by the voter, or
• If the person is no longer eligible for permanent absentee status.

• Write "Make me a permanent absentee voter" in section 6 of the FPCA.

Use Vote Delaware to complete an FPCA and then follow the directions to return it to the Department's office in your county, or Send a filled out Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to the Department's office in your county.

• Send it no later than the 3rd Monday before an election.
• Your application is good through the next General Election.
• We suggest you send it before August 1st in an election year, or January 1 in the year in which a President is elected.
• Send a new FPCA to change your party affiliation, email address, mailing address, name change or voting address.

Hints:

• Register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in the respective primary.
• Change your party affiliation on or before the last Friday in May in the year of a General Election.
• Change your party affiliation at least 60 days before the date of Delaware's Presidential Primary.
• Always include a phone number, FAX number and/or email address.
• Overseas voters will get a full ballot if overseas temporarily.
• Overseas voters must give their overseas address.
• Overseas voters can give a forwarding address if they want their ballot sent to an address other than their overseas address.

Get an FPCA from:

• The "Uniformed service and overseas citizen voter" section of Delaware's online system
• The Federal Voting Assistance WEB Site
• The Overseas Vote Foundation
• This site

Send the filled out FPCA to the Department's office in your county:

• By mail; FAX or email.
• Send it by air mail if you mail it at a foreign post office.
• Use the correct postage if you mail it at a foreign post office.

• No. Voter registration is permanent.
• You should update your registration information by sending a new FPCA if you change your mailing address, voting address, email address, name and/or party affiliation.

• Before every General Election.
• An FPCA requesting an absentee ballot is good through the next General Election.

• Mark the email or FAX box on the FPCA; and
• Write an email address or FAX number on the FPCA.
• The Department's office for your county will send you a ballot or tells you how to get it.
• Follow the instructions sent with your ballot.

• Contact the Department's office in your county, or
• Fill out and send in a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB).

• If you got your ballot by mail, follow the mail instructions.
• If you got your ballot by email or used the Ballot Marking Wizard, follow the email instructions.
• If you got your ballot by FAX, follow the FAX instructions.

• Prepare your ballot, cover sheet and oath to return by email depending on how you received your ballot - mail, email, fax.
• View documentation about the process.
• Create an EGRESS account. Once you create an account you do not have to do it again.
• Scan the cover sheet, your voted ballot and the oath onto your computer if necessary.
• Sign-in to your EGRESS account.
• Under Account Summary select - New Secure Email
• Address the email to your county Department of Elections.
• Use - Voted Absentee Ballot - as the Subject line.
• Attach the images of the cover sheet, ballot and oath to the email.
• Send the email to your county Department of Elections.
• The Office receiving the ballot will confirm they received your voted ballot.

It is a ballot you can send to the Department's office in your county:

• If you do not have time to have a ballot sent to you; or
• If you do not get your ballot in time.
• It is also a registration request if sent on or before the third Monday before an election.
• The Departments do not count an FWAB if it gets a person's regular ballot.

• The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot is available online;
• From a Voting Assistance Officer;
• From a United States embassy or consulate;

• Key Dates & Deadlines Election Calendar

You should unblock emails from the following addresses depending on your county:

• Kent County: [email protected]
• New Castle County: [email protected], [email protected] & [email protected]
• Sussex County: [email protected]