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 person who lives outside the United States.

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.

• By downloading it;
• 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: Courtney.Rice@delaware.gov
• New Castle County: Sarah.Denzmore@delaware.gov, David.Gilefski@delaware.gov & Gerena.Johnson@delaware.gov
• Sussex County: Jennifer.J.Williams@delaware.gov