Pierce County Military & Overseas Voter Guide

JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE FAR AWAY
DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T BE HEARD.

WHEN YOU LEFT THE COUNTRY,
YOUR VOTING RIGHTS WENT WITH YOU.

You may request a ballot be sent, emailed or faxed to you by contacting the Pierce County Auditor's Office directly or any of the following agencies, the Federal Voting Assistance Program or Integrated Voter Alternative Site (IVAS), or at one of their fax numbers: (703) 693-5527, (800) 368-8683 or DSN 223-5527 or by calling 800-438-8683.

Our freedom and the privilege to be able to vote in an open democratic process to elect our leaders, is due in large part to you, our military men and women and the soldiers who served before you. Regardless of where you are in the world, you have the right to cast a ballot in every election, and more importantly, have it arrive in time to count. If you're in the military, a dependant, or a citizen living overseas and you're registered to vote, you'll be mailed an absentee ballot. However, your current location and mail delivery time could cause a delay. To make sure your vote counts, please read the voting alternatives outlined below.

Regular Absentee Ballot Voter

Permanent absentee voters will automatically be mailed a regular absentee ballot for every election.
Permanent absentee voters or any voter with a mailing address outside of Pierce County who requests an absentee ballot will be mailed a ballot 30 days before the election or earlier if they are available.
If you have a local address on file with our office, your ballot will be mailed 18 days prior to the election.

Special Absentee Ballot

A special absentee ballot is available to voters in advance of an election who otherwise would be unable to vote through the normal absentee voting process.

You may request a special absentee ballot in writing or via email up to 90 days prior to a primary or general election.
Your application must state that you will not be able to vote and return a regular absentee ballot by normal mail within the period provided for regular absentee ballots.
You will receive a sample ballot containing all of the races and issues on which you are entitled to vote.
The ballot may be returned in person prior to leaving or by using normal mail delivery.

Email Ballot Program

You may sign up and obtain more information for our email ballot program on our website.
To participate in this program you must provide us with your email address, have access to a computer and printer, and have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. You can download Adobe Acrobat for free from the Auditor's website.
A ballot, voter affidavit, voting instructions and a fold-and-tape return envelope are sent via email as pdf file attachments.
Ballots and accompanying material are sent 30 days prior to each election.
The ballot is an exact image of your regular absentee ballot.
The ballot must be returned using normal mail delivery.

Faxed Ballots

There are three faxing options available for returning your ballot:

1. You may return a ballot which was faxed to you via normal mail delivery.
2. You may return your ballot via fax to (253) 798-2761; however, you must waive your right to secrecy. Include a cover sheet with your printed name, date of birth and the statement: 'I understand that by faxing my voted ballot, I am voluntarily waiving my right to a secret ballot.' You must sign below the statement. You must also fax a copy of the signed voter oath which is on the outside of the absentee ballot envelope.

Washington State accepts voted ballots by fax or e-mail conditionally: To be counted, your original voted ballot, signed oath and secrecy waiver must be received in our office the day prior to certification of the election. This certification occurs 15 days after a Primary or Special Election and 21 days after the General Election.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

Federal Write-In Absentee ballots may be used by military and overseas civilian voters residing outside the United States if their regular absentee ballot has not been received in a timely manner.
These ballots can be obtained from your Installation Voting Officer or from any US Embassy or Consular Office or you may request the write-in ballot directly from the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
These ballots must be dated on or before election day and received in the Auditor's Office by the day prior to certification of the election, which occurs 15 days after a Primary and 21 days after the General Election.
These ballots are only accepted in Primary and General elections when federal candidates are on the ballot.
The Federal Write-In ballot will be accepted only if you are outside the United States.
For out-of-state voters, overseas citizens and service voters the signed declaration on the returned envelope of the FVAB is the equivalent of a voter registration for the election or primary for which the ballot has been issued.

For questions or concerns, please contact our office:

Pierce County Auditor's Office - Elections Division
2401 S. 35th St., Room 200
Tacoma, WA 98409
253-798-VOTE (8683) or 1-800-446-4979
pcelections@co.pierce.wa.us