Military* and Overseas Voters

Deadline to Register to Vote in Florida
Florida's deadline to register to vote is 29 days prior to any election. This deadline applies to all citizens, including uniformed service members, merchant marines, their spouses and dependents, and citizens living overseas. People who are living overseas and who have been separated from employment or discharged from the military while overseas are eligible for late registration.
Fla. Stat. § 95.0555 (2014)

Election	Deadline to Register to Vote
Presidential Preference Primary                                                    (Election Date: 3/15/2016)	February 16, 2016
Primary Election (Election Date: 8/30/2016)	August 1, 2016
General Election (Election Date: 11/8/2016)	October 11, 2016

Fla. Stat. §95.0555 (2014)

Deadline for Voted Ballot to be received by Supervisor of Elections Office for Vote to Count 
The deadline for a voted absentee ballot to be received by the Supervisor of Elections Office is 7:00 P.M. Election Day. There is a 10-day deadline extension for overseas voters returning the voted ballot by mail. This deadline extension applies only to presidential preference primaries and general elections.

2016 Deadlines for Voted Ballot to be Received by Supervisor of Elections Office

Election	Deadline for Voted Ballot to be Received by Supervisor of Elections Office
Presidential Preference Primary (Election Date: 3/15/2016)	7:00 P.M. March 15, 2016 Election Day March 25, 2016 (only for overseas† voters returning the voted ballot by mail)
Primary Election (Election Date: 8/30/2016)	7:00 P.M. August 30, 2016 Election Day (No deadline extension)
General Election (Election Date: 11/8/2016)	7:00 P.M. November 8, 2016 Election Day November 18, 2016 (only for overseas† voters returning the voted ballot by mail)

†Overseas voters do not include voters living in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Fla. Stat. § 101.67(2) (2014) and §101.6952(5) (2014); Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986

Deadline for Supervisor of Elections to Send Vote-By-Mail Ballots to Military and Overseas Voters
The Supervisor of Elections Office is required to send vote-by-mail ballots to military and overseas voters by 45 days prior to an election. Vote-by-mail ballot requests received after the 45-day deadline will be sent within 2 days of the request being received by the Supervisor of Elections.

2016 Vote-by-Mail Ballot "Send" Deadlines

Election	Deadline for SOE to Send Vote-by-Mail Ballots to Military and Overseas Voters
Presidential Preference Primary (Election Date: 3/15/2016)	January 30, 2016
Primary Election (Election Date: 8/30/2016	July 16, 2016
General Election (Election Date: 11/8/2016)	September 24, 2016

Fla. Stat. §101.62(4)(a) (2014)

Deadline for Supervisor of Elections to Receive a Request to Send a Vote-By-Mail Ballot by Mail
A request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be MAILED must be received by the Supervisor of Elections office by 5:00 P.M. the sixth day before an election.
Fla. Stat. § 101.62(2) (2014)

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WHAT IF I
HAVEN'T RECEIVED
MY BALLOT
YET?

PLEASE NOTE: Vote-by-mail ballots for military and overseas voters are sent by 45 days prior to an election.

If you have not received your vote-by-mail ballot:

1. Confirm your request. Please make sure there is a request for a vote-by-mail ballot on file for you by checking your status. Please make sure the ballot address is correct.

2. Request another (or your first) ballot. You may request a ballot online or by email, fax, or mail. The deadline for the Supervisor of Elections to receive a request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to you is six days prior to the election.

3. Use the "back-up" ballot. If you have requested a vote-by-mail ballot and not received it, then military voters living outside Duval County and overseas voters may download, complete, and return a Federal-Write-in Absentee Ballot ("FWAB") (also available at www.fvap.gov). The FWAB contains instructions, a page for you to enter your voter information, and several pages for you to write in the offices and referenda as well as your voting choices. If you receive your pre-printed ballot and return that ballot as well, then turning in both will NOT be considered double voting.

Instructions for returning the FWAB are located on the first page of the downloaded FWAB.

In order for the FWAB to count, remember that you must have a request for a vote-by-mail ballot already on file. Also, you must return the FWAB by the deadline; your deadline is the same as it would be if your ballot were a pre-printed ballot.

4. Consider requesting an emailed ballot. If the deadline (six days prior to the election) for the Supervisor of Elections to receive a request for a mailed ballot has passed, then be aware that military voters living outside Duval County and overseas voters may still request a ballot to be emailed to you.

5. If you still have questions or concerns, please contact us by email at duvaluocava@coj.net, by fax at (904) 301-3867, or by telephone to Maggie Johnson at (904) 630-8015.
Fla. Stat. §§101.6952(2)(a-b) (2014) and §§101.6952(3)(b)-(5) (2014)

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WHAT ARE
SEVEN IMPORTANT THINGS
I NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT VOTING ABSENTEE IN FLORIDA?

1. There are multiple ways for the Elections Office to send your ballot to you.
Military voters absent from Duval County and overseas voters are permitted to have a vote-by-mail ballot sent to them by mail, fax, or email. Immediate family members are permitted to request a vote-by-mail ballot on behalf of the voter.

2. There is a back-up ballot you may use if you have not received your vote-by-mail ballot.
Military voters absent from Duval County and overseas voters are permitted to use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot. If you have not received your vote-by-mail ballot yet and you have already requested one for the upcoming election, you may download a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot ("FWAB") and vote with it immediately.

3. An out-of-date mailing address can lead to your voter record status changing to "ineligible."
If the Supervisor of Elections ("SOE") Office attempts to send you a piece of mail and it is returned to the SOE Office "undeliverable," and--if you do not contact the SOE Office within two general elections, then your record could change to the ineligible status. To vote in any election thereafter, you would have to re-register by the deadline, 29 days prior to the election.

4. Your signature with your voted absentee ballot must match your signature on file at the Elections Office in order for your ballot to be counted.

If you need to update your signature for this election, send your signature update on a voter registration application to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections so that it is received earlier than your voted ballot and no later than the start of the canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots, which occurs no earlier than the 15th day before election day.

5. A voted ballot may NOT be returned by email.

6. Even with power of attorney, a spouse or dependent may NOT sign the Voter's Certificate accompanying your ballot for you.

7. When you return your voted absentee ballot by fax (applicable only to overseas voters), you are voluntarily choosing to surrender your right to a secret ballot.
Fla. Stat. §98.068 (2014) and F.A.C. Rule 1S-2-030 (2014)

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TERMS

Absent uniformed services voter
(a) A member of a uniformed service on active duty who, by reason of such active duty, is absent from the place of residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote;

(b) A member of the merchant marine who, by reason of the active duty or service in the merchant marine, is absent from the place of residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote; or

(c) A spouse or dependent of a member referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) who, by reason of the active duty or service of the member, is absent from the place of residence where the spouse or dependent is otherwise qualified to vote.
Fla. Stat. § 97.021 (2014)

MOVE ACT
MOVE is an acronym for “Military and Overseas Citizens Empowerment.” The MOVE Act is federal legislation that was enacted in 2009 to expand the accessibility of voting for voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). MOVE Act requirements include that states send vote-by-mail ballots to UOCAVA voters at least 45 days prior to any election and that UOCAVA voters be provided the ability to track their ballots.

Overseas voter
(a) An absent uniformed services voter who, by reason of active duty or service, is absent from the United States on the date of the election involved;

(b) A person who resides outside the United States and is qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States;

(c) A person who resides outside the United States and, but for such residence, would be qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States.
§ 97.021, Fla. Stat. (2014)

UOCAVA
Abbreviation for "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act." This piece of federal legislation was enacted in 1986 to facilitate voting for members of the uniformed services, merchant marine, dependents and/or spouse, and citizens living overseas.  It establishes the Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) as a form that all UOCAVA voters may use to register to vote and request vote-by-mail ballots simultaneously.  It establishes the permission of overseas citizens to register to vote in the last place they lived in the United States.

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QUICK LINKS 
Federal Voting Assistance Program (www.fvap.gov) 
Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) 
Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (“FWAB”)