U.S. Embassy Warsaw, Poland
Message for U.S. Citizens
Final Opportunities to Return Voted Ballots
5 October 2016
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. The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 8. U.S. citizens who want to participate in the 2016 U.S. elections should already have returned their absentee ballots to their local election officials.
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:
The final date to return your paper ballot to your local election officials by election day for free via the U.S. Embassy Warsaw and Consulate General Kraków is October 18, 2016. If you wish to drop off your ballot, or have a friend or colleague drop it off for you place it in either a postage-paid envelope or envelope bearing domestic U.S. postage addressed to your local election officials. You can drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, at Embassy Warsaw or Consulate Kraków Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. We will mail them back home for you without the need to pay international postage..
Missed the U.S. Embassy Warsaw/Consulate Kraków shipment deadline? Consider returning your ballot to the United States via an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL or 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 8 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. If you have previously registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot but it has not yet arrived the following states allow voters to use email or fax to send signed, voted Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots to local election officials: Alaska (fax only), Arizona (contact election official first), Arkansas (fax only), Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida (fax only), Hawaii (fax only), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana (fax only), Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (fax only paper copy must also be mailed), Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma (fax only), Oregon (paper copy must also be mailed), Rhode Island (fax only), South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Review your state’s voting procedures at www.FVAP.gov carefully for guidance.
Returning your ballot by international mail delivery. If using Poland’s postal system, be sure to affix sufficient international postage, and allow sufficient time for international mail delivery.
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.
Need help? You can get in-person assistance from our Embassy or Consulate Voting Assistance Officers.
Have Questions? Please contact the American Citizen Services Voting Assistance Officer at +22 504 2784, or at acswarsaw@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.
For further information:
- See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Poland Country Specific Information.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program(STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw is located at Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, telephone +48-22-504-2000. Appointments for U.S. citizen services can be made Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., excluding Polish and American holidays and the last working Wednesday of each month. Appointments may also be scheduled for Fridays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. In the event of emergency after hours, you may contact the Embassy duty officer at +48-22-504-2000.
- The U.S. Consulate General in Kraków is located at Ulica Stolarska 9, 31-043, telephone +48-12-424-5100. Appointments for U.S. citizen services can be made Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., by appointment only. The Consulate is closed on Polish and American holidays. In the event of emergency after hours, you may contact the Consulate duty officer at +48-601-483-348.
- The U.S. Consular Agency in Poznan is located at Ulica Paderewskiego 8, 61-770, telephone +48-61-851-8516. The Consular Agency is open to the public except for U.S. and Polish holidays on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions.
- Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
- Follow us on Twitterand Facebook.
Note: The timestamp on this e-mail message may reflect Washington, D.C., time, which may differ from local time.
