If you plan to vote in the November 2020 election it is important to ACT NOW! Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away! Remember U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States – but you can get assistance in requesting and returning your absentee ballot. Many states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 3.
The Department of State is committed to assisting overseas voters in casting their ballots. For instructions on how to vote from Thailand please see our website: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/voting/. For general overseas voting information please see the Department of State’s web site Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad or FVAP.gov.
Never received your ballot? If you registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot prior to your state’s registration deadline, but have not yet received your ballot, complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state’s deadline. If your regular ballot arrives later, complete and return it as well. Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state’s deadline. Your vote will not be counted twice.
RETURNING YOUR BALLOT:
Note that the U.S. Postal Service recommends voters mail their completed ballots before Election Day and at least one week prior to your state’s deadline. To allow processing time between Department of State and U.S. Postal Service systems this means ballots must be received in the Embassy in Bangkok or Consulate General in Chiang Mai no later than October 1, 2020. Ballots received after that date will be forwarded, but may arrive too late to be counted. Please also check the regulations in the state in which you vote as deadlines may differ, and you may have alternative voting options such as electronic voting or by fax.
The above timeline is based on current local and U.S. conditions, which are subject to change. Should conditions change and impact the timeline we will alert you. We strongly recommend you submit your ballot as far in advance as possible.
If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you, place it in either a U.S. postage-paid envelope (provided with the ballot) or an envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials
MAILING BALLOTS FROM THAILAND:
Drop off Ballots: U.S. citizens may drop off their voting materials at the U.S. Embassy Bangkok or at the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai in the voting boxes located at the American Citizen Services security entrance. Please make sure your envelope is signed, sealed, and addressed to your district office. It also must include U.S. postage, or use a U.S. postage-paid envelope. You can find postage-paid envelopes available for download at this link. U.S. citizen employees of the Department of State are responsible for the handling of your ballots. Ballots may only be dropped during normal business hours (Monday – Friday from 07:00 am – 04:00 pm in Bangkok, or Monday – Friday from 07:30 am – 04:30 pm in Chiang Mai). You can print the U.S. postage-paid envelope on regular paper, then tape it to your envelope when you are preparing your ballot to be sent.
Mailing Ballots: If you live far from Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you may also mail ballots via Thai Post to the Embassy or Consulate General addresses below, then we will forward these to the United States to be delivered to your district office.
Instructions: You need two envelopes. It would be best if one is bigger, so one envelope can fit inside the other. Address the larger envelope to the Embassy or Consulate General at the mailing address below. Address the smaller envelope to your local state election office and enclose your ballot or FPCA inside. The smaller envelope needs to be postage-paid or have sufficient U.S. postage to be delivered to your local election office from the U.S. sorting facility where it will be mailed. Seal the smaller envelope, place it inside the larger envelope, and mail it to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General.
U.S. Embassy Bangkok
American Citizen Services
Attn: Voting Assistance Officer
95 Wireless Road
Bangkok, Thailand 10330
U.S. citizens in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kamphaengphet, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Petchabun, Phayao, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, and Uttaradit provinces should mail their ballots to the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai at:
U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai
American Citizen Services
Attn: Voting Assistance Officer
387 Wichayanond Rd
T. Chang Moi, A. Muang
Chiang Mai 50300 Thailand
Missed the recommended shipment deadline? Consider returning your ballot to the United States via a commercial express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or return your voted ballot electronically if allowed by your state. Ballots sent to local election officials via express courier service do not receive standard postmarks, so voters using this method should confirm delivery on or before November 3 prior to payment and shipment. Check your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov for guidance.
Returning your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot by email or fax. Review your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov carefully for guidance.
Returning your ballot by international mail delivery. If using Thailand’s postal system, be sure to check if international delivery to the U.S. is available at this time. You must affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for international mail delivery. Ballots sent via regular international mail from most countries at this late date are unlikely to reach local election officials by state ballot receipt deadlines, so you may need to consider another method.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING. Please help spread the word to your friends, family, 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.
Have Questions? Check out the full list of FAQs at the FVAP website. Or email the Voting Assistance Officer at U.S. Embassy Bangkok at VoteBANGKOK@state.gov or the Voting Assistance Officer at U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai at VoteChiangMai@state.gov. You can also contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program directly if you encounter issues with local election officials by emailing Vote@FVAP.gov or toll free by phone from many countries around the world.
Confirm your registration and ballot delivery online. Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website at www.FVAP.gov.
