If you plan to vote in the November 2020 election it is important to ACT NOW! Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away! Remember U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States – but you can get assistance in requesting and returning your absentee ballot. Many states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 3.
The Department of State is committed to assisting overseas voters in casting their ballots. For instructions on how to vote from Ghana please see our voting information website. For general overseas voting information please see the Department of State’s web site Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad or FVAP.gov.
Never received your ballot? If you registered to vote and requested an absentee ballot prior to your state’s registration deadline, but have not yet received your ballot, complete and return a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to ensure your vote reaches election officials by your state’s deadline. If your regular ballot arrives later, complete and return it as well. Your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot will only be counted if your regular ballot does not reach local election officials by your state’s deadline. Your vote will not be counted twice.
RETURNING YOUR BALLOT:
If your voting jurisdiction requires you to return paper voting forms or absentee ballots to local election officials by mail, you can do so through international mail or professional courier service. You may want to consider returning your absentee ballot via a private courier service or international mail if the deadline for returning your absentee ballot is near. You may also drop off your ballot at the U.S. Embassy Consular Section entrance on Fifth Link Road (between Fourth and Second Circular Roads) in Cantonments, Accra, every Tuesday and Thursday between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm. Ballots dropped off at the embassy must be sealed in a postage paid return envelope or in an envelope bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage and addressed to the relevant local election authority.
Note that the U.S. Postal Service recommends voters mail their completed ballots before Election Day and at least one week prior to your state’s deadline. To allow processing time between Department of State and U.S. Postal Service systems this means ballots should be received in the U.S. Embassy in Accra no later than October 8. 2020. Ballots received after that date will be forwarded, but may arrive too late to be counted. Please also check the regulations in the state in which you vote as deadlines may differ, and you may have alternative voting options such as electronic voting or by fax.
The above timeline is based on current local and U.S. conditions, which are subject to change. Should conditions change and impact the timeline we will alert you. We strongly recommend you submit your ballot as far in advance as possible.
