Military & Overseas Voter Information

Introduction

Thank you for your service to our country!

Nevada County Elections is proud to provide voter-centric, customer service oriented services to all voters, including our brave servicemen and servicewomen as well as our citizens living overseas. We understand that, sometimes, navigating the web of elections rules can get overwhelming. Voters serving and living away from home can face some unique challenges, and so we want to make sure that we are available to you to answer any questions or concerns that you might have.

There is a lot of information to cover, and we welcome any feedback to help improve this page. If you have any questions you may contact our office. You may also consult the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) https://www.fvap.gov/ and/or your Voting Assistance Officer (VAO).

Eligibility

Please read this page carefully if at least one of the following is true for you:

  • You are in the military or armed services
  • You are overseas by virtue of employment
  • You are overseas indefinitely
  • You are overseas temporarily
  • You are a spouse or dependent of someone in the military or armed services

You can register to vote in Nevada County if you meet the qualifications, which are:

  • Citizen of the United States
  • You reside in, or your last US address was in, Nevada County, California (for those seeking elections services from the State of Nevada, please visit this link: https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/elections)
  • Not currently in prison for the conviction of a felony
  • Not found by a court to be mentally incompetent
  • At least 18 years old at the time of the next election

Registration

If you want to register, you may access the California Secretary of State's secure online portal, found at this link: https://registertovote.ca.gov/. This is the quickest, most cost-effective way to get a registration to our office.

You can also complete the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA), which serves as a registration form and a request for a ballot. The FPCA is administered by FVAP and information is available at the following link: https://www.fvap.gov/military-voter/overview.

When you register to vote, make sure you take a close look at the following:

  • Required information. At minimum, you must provide us with your name, date of birth, identifying information (e.g., driver's license number or last four digits of your social security number), residential address, and signature.
  • Political party affiliation. You do not have to register with a political party if you do not want to. However, if you want to vote for presidential candidates in the primary (in years evenly divisible by 4), then you might have to re-register to participate. Please let us know if you have any questions about party registration.
  • Mailing address. You must provide a residential address so that we can verify your qualifications. But to receive materials out of state/country, we also need your mailing address.
  • Contact information. If phone or electronic correspondence are most convenient for you, please make sure you provide us with your phone number and/or email address.
  • Voting materials in accessible formats. Please check the box indicating that you would like to receive accessible materials and be sure to include your email address.

Voting

You have the option of letting us know how you would like to receive election materials, as well as options for returning your voted ballot.

  • Mail is always available when you need it. Please be sure that, when you register, you provide us with the most up-to-date mailing address so we can make sure to get you your ballot.
  • If you do not use our return envelope, you must complete an Oath of Voter. The Oath of Voter is an acknowledgement that your voted ballot loses a degree of secrecy when returned by fax or with an envelope other than the one we provided to you. It also serves as our way to help verify your identity. Please be sure to include your Oath of Voter or we may not be able to count your vote.
  • Email is available if you want to receive elections materials. Nevada County uses a secure portal to deliver your Voter Information Guides and ballot. When you register, be sure to give us your email address. Email is only good for receiving materials--you may not return your voted ballot by email.
  • Fax is available if you want to return a voted ballot. If you have access to a fax machine, you can return your voted ballot directly to our office without having to worry mailing it in. Our fax number is 530-265-9829. If you do not have access to a fax machine, you can email fax@fvap.gov and they will fax your voted ballot and Oath of Voter to us. Please be sure to include their cover sheet https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/TransmissionCoversheet.pdf. 
  • You may use the Federal Write-In Ballot (FWAB) in a pinch. If for some reason you were unable to access a copy of your ballot, we will accept the FWAB. Please be sure to fill in the form as completely as possible and return it to us as soon as you can https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/fwab2013.pdf.

Ever wonder whether our office gets your voted ballot? We're glad to provide updates to all voters!

  • WheresMyBallot.com: Get automatic updates to your phone or email to know immediately when your ballot is received and counted by signing up for BallotTrax: https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
  • Secretary of State Voter Status Page: Enter in your identifying information and get a full picture of your registration and voting history: https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
  • Call or email our office: We're here to help!  We even accept collect calls. You can email us at elections.uocava@nevadacountyca.gov or call at 530-265-1298 or toll free at 888-395-1298.

Helpful Tips

  • You can only have one residential address. For those of you in military service, this might be different from your Home of Record. Please refer to FVAP's information page on your residence: https://www.fvap.gov/military-voter/voting-residence.
  • Plan ahead. If you register after the federal deadline for mailing to military and overseas voters, no problem. But we encourage you to take care of your registration early, especially if you live in a place where mail is hard to access or inconsistent. 
  • If you miss the regular registration deadline, you may still vote. Sometimes, something unexpected happens and you find out you are not registered. We can help you! A new law in California now allows military and overseas voters to register and vote on the same day if you miss the deadline. Please email us at elections.uocava@nevadacountyca.gov or call us at 530-265-1298 or toll free at 888-395-1298 for details.
  • You do not need to make a separate request for a ballot. When you register, we will automatically mail you a ballot. We start mailing ballots 60 days before the election, and no later than 45 days before the election if you're already registered. 
  • Mail back your ballot as soon as possible. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by our office no later than 7 days after the election.
  • We can only accept ballots that are physically mailed back or that are returned by fax. Under California law, we may not accept a ballot by email. But you can email FVAP your ballot and they can fax it to our office. Email your materials (and don't forget your Oath of Voter!) to fax@fvap.gov.

Returning to the U.S.

Welcome back! Upon your return to the United States after residing overseas, you will need to re-register to vote. You can register with our office, online, or at the Department of Motor Vehicles.