Attention all U.S. citizens who have waited until the last minute to register to vote absentee in the 2008 presidential elections: The last minute is upon us.
The deadline for registering to vote absentee for the U.S. elections in most states is Oct. 6, so procrastinate no more.
Luckily, registering to vote is an easy procedure, so there’s no excuse not to do it.
The first step is to visit the Web site www.fvap.gov/overseas-citizens/index.html and fill out an on-line ballot request form. You’ll need to have some basic information handy, such as Social Security number, Nicaraguan mailing address, U.S. driver’s license number and last U.S. address.-
After filling out the form online, print it out, sign and date it, and then mail, fax or e-mail it to your corresponding town clerk’s office, the address of which is easily accessible on the same Web page by following the directions online.
Each state has different voting and submission procedures. Information about your state’s procedures and deadlines to register and vote is available on the same Web page.
If your state requires that you physically mail in your form, you may-mail your registration materials from either your local post office or-by dropping-them-off at the U.S. Embassy in Managua between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.-during any work day.
Though you cannot have your ballots sent to the U.S. Embassy address, the U.S. Embassy will send your application form and your signed ballot, free of charge, to your local election official.
Envelopes are also available at the U.S. Embassy from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, any day that it is open to the public.
Finally, the voting assistance officer at the U.S. Embassy is available to answer questions about absentee voting. To contact the voting assistance officer, send an e-mail to ACS.Managua@state.gov.
Now go register; it takes about the same amount of time it took you to read this.n
