UMOVA Notice
Official Notice of Election for Military and Overseas Voters
This is an official notice of a General Election to be conducted on 11/7/2023 in all Election Districts within Philadelphia County.
You may register to vote and request an official absentee ballot by using the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA), available at www.votespa.com, www.fvap.gov or download here: Download Fillable FPCA *
This application is acceptable for General, Primary, and Special elections for which you are eligible in that calendar year alone. We recommend you send in a new FPCA every January and each time you move.
You may apply for an absentee ballot by submitting your FPCA by fax to (215) 686-3398, or by email to phillyelection@phila.gov.
You may request an absentee ballot from this office at any time prior to a primary or election.
All voted Military and Civilian Overseas Absentee Ballots must be mailed back, along with the voter’s declaration, no later than 11:59 pm on the day before the election and must be received by the County Board of Elections no later than the Tuesday following the election.
If time does not permit you to receive and return an official absentee ballot and you have already applied for an absentee ballot, you are also entitled to vote using the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). Military electors may also use the FWAB to register to vote and vote simultaneously.
You may use the FWAB to vote for ALL state and local offices, and ballot initiatives.
To vote for state and local offices or for ballot initiatives, write the names of candidates or ballot initiatives in the Addendum section of the FWAB. Under the Office/Ballot Initiative heading, enter the office the candidate is running for or the title of the Ballot Initiative (referendum). Under the Candidate Name, Party Affiliation or Initiative Vote heading, list the name of the candidate you wish to vote for, or if you are voting on a Referendum question write “yes” or “no.”
Download UMOVA Notice (2024 Primary Election)
Download Military and Overseas Write-In Ballot (FWAB) *
* Notice about the FPCA and FWAB: There are four check boxes in the “1. Who are you? Pick one.” section. Individuals described by either of the first two options are eligible to vote for all offices (Federal, State, and Local) as well as Ballot Questions and Initiatives. People selecting the third option “I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, and my return is uncertain” are eligible to vote for Federal offices only. People selecting the fourth option “I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country and have never lived in the United States” would not be eligible to receive a ballot. The PA Statute may be viewed below.
42 U.S.C. §§ 1973ff-6(5)(B) & (C). These overseas voters who reside outside the United States and no longer maintain a Pennsylvania residence under Pennsylvania law are not qualified to vote for state office under Pennsylvania law, unless the overseas voter is a civilian employee of the United States outside the territorial limits of the United States or the spouse or dependent of such an employee. This exception for civilian employees of the United States and their spouses and dependents is found at 25 PS. § 3146.1(g) & (h). Civilian “overseas voters” qualified to vote for federal office under UOCAVA but not qualified under Pennsylvania law to vote for state and local offices or on ballot questions are sometimes described as “federal electors.” PLEASE NOTE: An example of a “federal elector” would include a US. citizen who will be 18 by the day of the general election, who was born in Pennsylvania, who spent at least the first day of his or her life in Pennsylvania and never returned to Pennsylvania to establish residency here. This “federal elector” may be sent an absentee ballot for only federal candidates for the general election. By contrast, if a U.S. citizen who will be 18 by the day of the general election, whose parents moved out of Pennsylvania the day before the individual was born, who lived his or her life abroad and did not establish residency in Pennsylvania is not considered a “federal elector,” and cannot vote in either federal or state elections in Pennsylvania.