American Citizen Services

U.S. Voting from Malaysia

Our system of government depends on the active participation of our citizens in the electoral process. It is not only the right of American citizens to vote, it is their duty to do so. Being overseas certainly does not relieve us of this civic duty but it does make it more difficult. While our friends back home can cast their vote between errands or on the way to work, we must deal with absentee ballot requests and mailing times back to our various states of residence.

Under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the right to vote can be exercised by United States citizens while overseas. Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are residing outside the United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office (this includes Presidential elections and the elections of Senators and Representatives). Many states have liberal laws allowing overseas residents to vote in state and local elections, too.

Election, voter registration and absentee ballot information is available directly from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). You can register to vote by absentee ballot using the FVAP's online service. Please follow the specific instructions for state-by-state acceptance of online registrations. For more information you may use FVAP's toll-free telephone number from Malaysia at 1-800-80-3709. (Note: this number may be dialed directly from Malaysia.)

The American Citizen Services staff takes voting assistance very seriously. If you or anyone you know is having an event to register voters or encourage voting, please let us know. We will help in any way we can.

Eligibility

Eligibility to vote in state and federal elections via absentee ballot depends upon the laws and regulations of your last state of legal residence in the United States. You can vote by absentee ballot, even if you had never registered to vote, from your last "state of legal residence." For voting purposes this is the state where you last resided immediately prior to your departure from the United States. If you never resided in the United States, you may register and vote in the last state that your parents, or grandparents, resided in before your birth. Seventeen states have specific rules that permit foreign-born American citizens who have never resided in the United States to use their parents’ state of voting residence: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin. For other states, please send a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA--see below for definition) to the appropriate local board of elections since the state determines your eligibility to vote. For further information, the FVAP has a FAQ sheet. 

The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)

The absentee voting process is designed to permit citizens who will be away from their local polling places on Election day to vote by mail. You likely may be using a FPCA, which is a “U.S. postage paid” postcard (please affix appropriate Malaysian postage when mailing from Malaysia) printed and distributed by the Federal government for use by absentee voters, to register and/or apply for an absentee ballot. The FPCA serves as a simultaneous registration form and application for an absentee ballot. However, the extent and manner of its use are controlled by state law and sometimes by local procedure.

To request a FPCA, e-mail KLConsular@state.gov (put "ACS" in the subject line), call the ACS unit at 603-2168-5000 or write to the ACS unit; 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur. When sending your FPCA request, please indicate your name, current address in Malaysia and your last "state of legal residence" in the United States. 

If your election materials require a witness or notary signature, please see the notarial services section. As they are for federal elections, these notarizations are free of charge.

Absentee voters should submit the FPCA to the local election officials so that it is received at least 45-60 days prior to the election.  For further information, click here and go to sections E and F of page 16).

If you do not receive confirmation of your registration from your local election official, please call the FVAP directly from Malaysia at 1-800-80-3709 or contact your local election official. We cannot provide receipt confirmation of your registration to vote by absentee ballot. To obtain this information, you will need to contact your local election officials in the United States to ask questions about the registration/ absentee voting process. Your main resource for state links is the Federal Voting Assistance Program.  Elections and absentee voting are responsibilities of the various state secretaries of state, and contact information for the local election officials can be found on their Web sites.

Emergency Write-In Ballots

If your absentee ballot request is received by local election officials at least 30 days in advance of the election and your blank ballot does not arrive in time for you to complete and mail it back, we can provide an emergency write-in ballot (Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot) to help you have your vote be counted. To request one, e-mail KLConsular@state.gov (put "ACS" in subject line).