It’s time to VOTE!

By Hope Bradberry

For U.S. citizens living in Mexico, the midterm elections are upon us! On September 24, hundreds of U.S. citizens in San Miguel should be receiving ballots for the general election in their email inboxes. If you haven’t yet requested your ballot, please go to https://www.votefromabroad.org to do so. Next, have a plan to return your ballot.

What happens after you receive your ballot? When you receive your ballot by email, you will need to download it, print it, vote it, and follow the instructions carefully to return it. For all states, you will need to have a plan to print your ballot. If you do not have a printer, reach out to your friends and/or neighbors to see if they can print your ballot for you or locate a nearby papelaria (stationary store) where they can print it for you from your device or a flash drive.

All voters that can return their ballot electronically should do so. These states have electronic options: AL, AZ, CO, DE, DC, HI, IN, KS, ME, MA, MS, MT, NE (requires permission from local election official), NV, NJ (also send by mail), NM, NC, ND, OR (with special forms) RI, SC, UT, WA, and WV.  Please reach out to demsabroadsma@gmail.com for support and further explanation.

Many of the above states and the following allow ballot return by fax: AK, CA, FL, LA, and OK. There are a number of locations in town where you are able to fax your ballot, cover sheet, and other documents required by the state. If this is an option for your state, you are strongly advised to utilize it. There is also a website, https://faxzero.com, where you can fax these documents.

All other states require ballots to be returned by postal mail. You can take your ballot to the U.S. Consulate office at La Luciérnaga, but we recommend doing so no later than Oct. 4. If using local mail forwarding, your ballot should be in the mail by Oct. 18 to assure delivery on time.

Democrats Abroad SMA hopes to provide supportive services of printing and scanning at its headquarters at Ancha de San Antonio 19, but we also want voters to be prepared and realize that there may be waits at the office. Voters should act with the utmost urgency when they receive their ballots. Do not delay. If you do not receive your ballot by Sept. 27, contact your local election official and be prepared to utilize the Federal Emergency Write-in Ballot. Contact demsabroadsma@gmail.com for assistance.