American Citizen Services

General Information

Register to Vote NOW!

American citizens should register to vote now for the November 4, 2008 presidential and general elections. Many states close voter registration 30 days before the general election. Don’t forget the time it takes for voting 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 http://www.fvap.gov. You may also pick up a hard copy of the FPCA from any U.S. Embassy or 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. (See specific mailing options below.)

Voting

Your local voting officials should mail your absentee ballot 30 to 45 days before the November 4 general election to your overseas address. Return your voted ballot as early as possible. Be aware of your state’s ballot receipt deadline, as well as any postmarking and/or postage requirements.

Emergency Ballots

The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) serves as an emergency ballot for voters who registered in time but fail to receive an official ballot from local election officials. You can access the FWAB using http://www.fvap.gov as well.

Mailing Options for Voting Materials

Voters in Romania 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.

1. First Class Mail: You may mail your Federal Postcard Application or voted ballot to the United States through the Romanian mail system with appropriate international postage. Mail to the U.S. takes approximately seven days.
2. Diplomatic Pouch: The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest can send your FVAP or FWAB back to the United States via internal diplomatic pouch for free if you drop off the completed application at the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit. Please note, however, that transmission by diplomatic pouch to the East Coast takes approximately ten days. Processing of mail at the diplomatic pouch facility in the Washington, D.C. area and onward delivery by the U.S. Postal Service to local election officials across the United States can take another one to four days. The ACS Unit will place a date stamp and seal on your ballot as evidence of the date and location from which the ballot was mailed but this is not a postmark. Voters should make every effort to submit their completed ballots to the U.S. Embassy no later than October 14 for diplomatic pouch mail.
3. 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 Phone 021 201 4822
  (In Romania, FedEx contracts through International Romexpress Service Ltd)
  * From September 15 to October 29, FedEx will ship voted ballots from Romania to the United States for the special price of $23.50. See also https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/ExpressYourVote.htm for more details on this special offer.
• UPS: www.ups.com Phone: 021 208 0461
• DHL: www.dhl.com Phone: 021 222 1777

Questions?

The Voting Assistance Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest is also available to answer questions about absentee voting. To contact the Voting Assistance Officer, call 021-200-3300 and ask for the American Citizens Services Unit or send an e-mail to VoteBucharest@state.gov.

Important Notice about the 2008 U.S. Elections

Updated February 1, 2008

All American citizens are reminded that 2008 is an election year in the United States. Overseas citizens are eligible to participate in primary, run-off, and special elections that occur throughout the year, as well as the general elections in November.

We strongly encourage you to register to vote and/or request absentee ballots as early in the year as possible to ensure that you will receive all ballots for which you are eligible. Should questions or problems occur, you would still be able to address them in time to vote in the 2006 general elections.

The following is the basic absentee voting process:

• Complete an application form (see below) and send it to your local election official in the United States.
• The local official approves the request, or contacts you for further information.
• The local official sends an absentee ballot.
• Vote with the ballot and send it back in time to meet your state's deadline.

The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at http://www.fvap.gov. It has a wealth of information about absentee voting, including the downloadable absentee ballot application, state-specific instructions for completing the form, links to state and local officials, and a downloadable emergency ballot.

Overseas citizens groups help people to vote. We encourage you to contact Democrats Abroad, Republicans Abroad or other American citizens groups or organizations for assistance in registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots. Links to these groups can be found at http://www.fvap.gov/links/ocitlinks.html.

To register to vote and to request an absentee ballot, download the Federal Post Card Application at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/fpca.html. You can also obtain this form from overseas American citizens groups or from the U.S. Embassy/Consulate. Fill it out and send it in, following the guidelines for your state. A postage-paid envelope template, valid if you are using the U.S. postal system, is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/returnenvelope.html.

Each state has different voting procedures. Information about your state's procedures is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag.html#ch3. Information about your state's deadlines to register and vote is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/primarycal.html. A calendar of election dates is available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/primarycal.html.

States sometimes make last-minute changes. There may be late changes to your state's voting calendar, procedures or deadlines. When these occur, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) will issue a News Release. News Releases are available at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/releases.html.

Be an educated voter. Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues is widely available and easy to obtain via the Internet. Use the links appearing on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at http://www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html, or choose any one of several search engines to locate articles and information.

An emergency ballot is available. If the ballot receipt deadline is approaching, and you have not yet received the blank ballot from local officials, you can download an emergency ballot, write in the names of the candidates and the offices for which they are running, and send it back in time to meet your state's ballot receipt deadline. The emergency ballot (SF-186, Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB) is available on the Internet at http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/fwab.html.

The Voting Assistance Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest is available to answer questions about absentee voting. To contact the Voting Assistance Officer, call 021-200-3300 or send an e-mail to acsbucharest@state.gov. Look for notices from the Embassy/Consulate throughout the year relating to the 2008 elections.

Again, we strongly encourage you to begin this process as soon as possible.

Public Hours for American Citizens Services (ACS)

Notarial services:
Mondays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:00
Wednesdays 2:00-3:00

General services except notarials:
Monday through Friday 9:00-12:00
Mondays 1:30– 3:30

Telephone inquiries:
Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 11:30 AM and 1:00 - 5:00 PM.
Telephone: +(40 21) 200 3300

Fax: +(40 21) 200 3578
Internet: http://bucharest.usembassy.gov/US_Citizen _Services
E-mail: acsbucharest@state.gov (general U.S. citizen inquiries, not related to US visas)
Consulate Location: Str. Filipescu 26, behind the Hotel Intercontinental on the first street parallel to Magheru Boulevard, in Bucharest.

For security reasons, the following may not be brought to the Consulate:

• large bags such as backpacks and luggage
• laptop computers, electronic devices, cameras or video or audio equipment

Emergency Services are available from the Embassy 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. For emergencies after public hours please call +(40-21) 200-3433.

back to top ^