San Mateo County voters who are:
- Members of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty
- Spouses or dependents of a member of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty
- Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- U.S. citizens living abroad with an intent to return
- U.S. citizens living abroad with no intent to return
may register and receive a ballot by completing a Federal Post Card Application form (FPCA). For more information, click here.
The FPCA form is available at your local U.S. Embassy or at the Federal Voting Assistance Program website.
You may also go to the California Secretary of State’s website to register as a military or overseas voter.
When you register, you may choose to receive your ballot by:
- email/online
- fax or
- postal mail.
Pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, San Mateo County will send your ballot between 60 and 45 days prior to Election Day.
If you are already registered in San Mateo County as an overseas or military voter, you may download your official ballot here during an election.
Return Your Ballot
To mail your voted ballot:
- Complete and sign the Oath of Voter form.
- Use the envelope provided or, if you wish, use your own envelope.
- Mail the voted ballot and Oath of Voter form to:
Registration & Elections Division
San Mateo County
40 Tower Road
San Mateo, California 94402
USA - Ballots must be received by the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division no later than 8 p.m. Pacific Time on Election Day or postmarked on or before Election Day and received by 7 days after Election Day.
If you believe your voted ballot will not reach our office by 8 p.m. Pacific Time on Election Day, then you may return the voted ballot by fax. Follow these steps to fax your voted ballot:
- Complete and sign the Oath of Voter form on the next page.
- Fax the voted ballot and Oath of Voter form in the same transmission to 650.312.5348.
- Fax transmissions must be received by 8 p.m. Pacific Time on Election Day.
Overseas Vote Foundation
The Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) provides an online, dynamically created Registration and Absentee Voting Application (RAVA) to serve overseas voters.
RAVA enacts the mission of Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), which is to facilitate voter participation in federal elections for all Americans whose voting program falls under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act.
Overseas American citizens, State Department employees and active duty Uniformed Service members and their accompanying families within and outside of the United States can register to vote using RAVA. Register today!
You may also vote in person at a Vote Center in San Mateo County.
Youth Vote Overseas
Youth Vote Overseas (YVO) brings you the online tools that will make your overseas voting experience easy and fast. Register to vote, look up election official contacts, check filing deadlines and access help desk services — it’s all here for you at YVO.