Election Advisory No. 2016-19

To:	County Elections Officers (County Clerks/Elections Administrators/Tax Assessors-Collectors)
From:	Keith Ingram, Director of Elections
Date:	September 15, 2016
RE:	IInstructions and Deadlines for Mailing/Emailing Ballots Under the Federal “MOVE Act” for Overseas Voters

Pursuant to the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (“MOVE”) Act, the blank official ballot must be mailed or emailed to any voter who submits a Federal Postcard Application (“FPCA”). All FPCAs submitted on or after January 1, 2016 are effective for the 2016 primaries and general election.

Deadline to Mail Overseas Ballots

As a reminder, all ballots to FPCA voters must be mailed on or before the 45th day before election day. The deadline for mailing ballots for the 2016 primary election is Saturday, September 24, 2016. Please note that although the deadline falls on a Saturday, it does not extend to the next business day. Therefore, we recommend mailing your ballots by Friday, September 23, 2016. If you plan on mailing your ballots on Saturday, we recommend that you consult with your local post office to confirm dates/hours their office will be open.

If a federal postcard application (FPCA) is received after the 45th-day deadline, the ballot should be mailed not later than the seventh calendar day after the date the FPCA is received. If an application for a ballot by mail is received after the 45th-day deadline from a voter who is not in the military or overseas, the ballot should be mailed not later than the seventh calendar day after the date the application is accepted. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 86.004(b).

The following are important deadlines affecting FPCA voters:

November 8, 2016 General Election for State and County Officers

Saturday, September 24, 2016 - Deadline to mail or email ballots to ALL FPCA voters. (We have more information about deadlines to mail ballots in our November 8, 2016 Election Law Calendar.)
Friday, October 28, 2016 - Deadline to Receive FPCAs and Deadline to request an emailed, unmarked ballot.
3 Business Days after FPCA Voter Activity - Submit your FPCA tracking information for new FPCAs received, FPCA ballots mailed and received to the Office of the Secretary of State in order that the FPCA Ballot Tracker website is populated with timely information. If you need an updated spreadsheet for submission, please contact a member of the Voter Registration team as soon as possible.

Emergency Ballots

We would also like to take this time to remind you that you have the authority to create emergency ballots. If you do not receive your ballots in time to meet the 45-day deadline, you may create your own paper ballots or, if you have a copy of the ballot in the Adobe .pdf format, which is often provided by the printer for your proofing, you may forward a copy to the voter. If you have a physical copy of the ballot and a scanner, you could scan the ballot and attach a copy of the scanned ballot to the email to the voter. If you have a copy of the ballot in Microsoft Word, you could attach a copy in that format. The main key is that it should be in a digital format that the average voter will be able to open and print.

Instructions for Emailing Ballots

Any voter who submits an FPCA and requests that the ballot be emailed, must be emailed a blank official ballot.

Here are the links to FPCA email instructions which we encourage you to use and modify as necessary for your county:

Instructions to the Early Voting Clerk

Notice of Returned Emailed Ballot

The following items should be included with your email to the voter:

The following items are helpful guidance on the MOVE Act’s requirements:

If you have any questions relating to the implementation of the MOVE Act, please contact our office at your earliest convenience. You may reach the Legal Department at 1-800-252-2216, Option 2.

KI:AF