US Citizens Abroad - Register to Vote by 04 Oct 08

U.S. citizens should register to vote now for the November 4, 2008, presidential and general elections.  Many states close voter registration on October 4, 2008, which is 30 days before the general election.  Be sure to allow sufficient time for your voting registration forms to reach the U.S. by mail.Voters who have not yet registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot should complete a Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) on the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s website at www.fvap.gov.  Voters may also pick up a hard copy of the FPCA from any U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate.You should also complete a new Federal Postcard Application if you have moved or changed your name since the last time you voted.FPCAs may be mailed to your local voting officials in the U.S. through the regular international mail or from any U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  Some states also accept FPCAs by fax or e-mail.For more information, review our webpage about absentee voting:  http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-7124c.html-----------------------------------------------------------------Mailing Your Ballot (Int’l Mail, APO, FedEx, Drop-off at Embassy) -----------------------------------------------------------------Voters in Japan have a number of options for mailing Federal Postcard Applications, voted state ballots, and Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to their local election officials in the United States.  Mailing addresses for local election officials and state mailing deadlines can be found in the Voting Assistance Guide, available on-line at www.fvap.gov. - International Mail: You may mail your Federal Postcard Application or voted ballot to the United States through the Japanese mail system, with appropriate international postage.  Mail to the U.S. takes ten to fourteen days. - APO Military Mail: Ballots must be potage-paid or should have first class U.S. postage (42 cents).  APO mail to the United States takes 10-15 days.  Voters from states that require ballots to be returned on or before election day should submit their ballots to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate no later than the following dates for APO mail:       Fukuoka:  by October 14     Naha:     by October 24     Osaka:    by October 14     Sapporo:  by October 24     Tokyo:    by October 24- Express Courier: Last-minute voters can use express courier services such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL to send their voted ballots to all states and territories except Alabama.  Express courier companies cannot deliver to post office boxes, so you will need to know the street address of your local voting official in the United States.  Mail sent by express courier companies is not postmarked.  Contact information for some local express courier companies follows:        * FedEx: www.fedex.com/jp_english/ , (toll free number in Japan: 0120-00-3200).  Until October 29, FedEx will ship voted ballots from Japan to the U.S. for free.  A FedEx Air Waybill must be filled out by the sender and addressed directly to local voting officials.  The FedEx Air Waybill is available at        https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/ExpressYourVote.htm      You may drop off your ballot with your completed FedEx Air Waybill at the Embassy in Tokyo or the Consulates in Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka.  (Note: FedEx is not available at the Consulates in Naha and Sapporo.)         You may also drop off your ballot at FedEx offices in Japan (for locations, please seehttp://www.fedex.co.jp/jp_english/dropoff/    Please note: You may drop off your ballot at FedEx World Service Centers and FedEx Stations only.   You cannot use FedEx Drop Boxes, FedEx Kinko’s, and FedEx Authorized Ship Centers.      * UPS: www.ups.com  (0120-27-1040)     * DHL: www.dhl.com  (0120-39-2580)-----------------------------State Ballot Return Deadlines-----------------------------A list of General Election Deadlines for Overseas Citizens and Military stationed in the U.S. and abroad is available at http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-7124c.html An alphabetized list is available at http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-vote2008d.html Please be aware of states with postmark deadlines.Learn Japanese!