Location: Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza
Event: Returning your absentee ballot for the 2020 General Election
In some states, voter registration and ballot request deadlines for the United States General Election are as early as October fifth. Whether you are a first-time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, we recommend that you complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) each year to ensure you are able to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter.
If you have already completed a FPCA in 2020 and requested electronic delivery of your ballot, you will receive your blank ballot or instructions for how to access your ballot soon, if you have not already received it. If you are not sure about the status of your absentee ballot request you should contact your local election officials in the United States or check the status of your registration via your state’s voter registration verification website.
Submitting your absentee ballot:
American citizens overseas have several options for submitting their ballots. We strongly encourage voters to submit their ballots electronically or by fax if that option is available.
Where mail-in ballots are the only option, please consider using a courier service to send your ballot directly to your home state to be counted. If you live far from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, you may also mail ballots via Israel Post or private courier to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv. Please consider this only as a last resort, as it will add steps to the process and slow it down. We will then mail your ballots for you to the United States to be delivered to your district office via Diplomatic Pouch. Please note that if you chose to mail your ballots via the U.S. Embassy or the Embassy Branch Office, we cannot guarantee that your ballot will reach your home state in time to be counted.
Instructions for sending your ballot to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv:
Step 1: Address an envelope to your local state election office. This envelope should either be postage-paid or have sufficient U.S. postage to be delivered to your local election office from the U.S. sorting facility where it will be mailed.
Step 2: Place your FPCA or ballot inside the envelope addressed to your local state election office.
Step 3: Address another envelope to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv at the mailing address below.
Step 4: Place the first envelope inside the envelope addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.
Step 5: Mail the package to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.
U.S. Embassy Jerusalem
American Citizen Services
Attn: Voting Assistance Officer
14 David Flusser
Jerusalem 9378322, Israel
U.S. Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv
American Citizen Services
Attn: Voting Assistance Officer
71 HaYarkon Street
Tel Aviv 6343229, Israel
Your ballot will be returned via Diplomatic Pouch, which is slower than normal mail. Once your ballot reaches the embassy, please allow for an additional 4 weeks for your ballot to arrive at your local election office. If it’s more convenient, you can also return your ballot to your local election officials via international mail or professional courier service, at your own expense.
Instructions for dropping your ballot off at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv:
As a last resort, eligible voters are permitted to drop off ballots at the American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv. Please note that it can take up to four weeks for mail to reach its destination if sent by Diplomatic Pouch. You must make sure your ballot is delivered to the embassy to meet your local voting district’s deadline for mailed ballots. Ballots can be dropped off at the American Citizen Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem from 9:00 AM-11:00 AM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or at the Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv from 8:00 AM-11:00AM on Tuesday and Thursday.
Please note that all visitors to the embassy are subject to a security screening and you will not be permitted to bring electronic devices, including cell phones, inside the facility.
Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website, FVAP.gov. If you have any questions about absentee voting, please contact the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem Voting Assistance Officer at Jerusalemvote@state.gov or the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, Branch Office Tel Aviv Voting Assistance Officer at VoteTelAviv@state.gov .
