Vote by Mail Unit

Phone: (530) 886-5650
Toll-free: 1-800-824-8683
Email: [email protected]

This page covers the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), as it applies to Placer County’s military and overseas voters. For more general information from the California Secretary of State, see the state’s Military & Overseas Voters page.

Table of Contents

• Election-Specific Information
• Program Details
• Voting Options
• Returning Your Voted Ballot
• Additional Resources

Election-Specific Information

Click here to see important dates for the November 5, 2024 General Election.

You can view your California Voter Information Guide online at the Secretary of State’s website and your Placer County Voter Information Guide on our website.

Program Details

Program History

Since 2002, the Placer County Elections Office has provided the Military and Overseas Voting Program to all eligible Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters. The purpose of this program is to simplify the voting process so that all eligible voters may receive, vote, and return their ballot without delay regardless of where they are currently stationed or reside.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify as a military or overseas voter you must be a United States citizen, 18 years of age or older, absent from Placer County, and meet any one of the following qualifiers:

• A member of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Space Force; Merchant Marines; a member of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps of the U.S.; or a member on activated status of the National Guard or state militia.
• Residing outside the U.S.
• A spouse or dependent of any of the above (must live out of county)
• A person born outside the U.S. who has not registered to vote in any other state and their parent/legal guardian was a Placer County resident when parent/legal guardian was last living in the U.S.

Program Benefits

• Remain registered to vote regardless of where you currently reside, whether you still maintain your Placer County address of registration.
• Receive your ballot 45 to 60 days prior to every election (compared to 29 days for local vote-by-mail voters)
• Receive your ballot by mail, email, or fax and return your voted ballot by mail or fax.
  • If faxing: You may return your ballot by fax only if you are living outside the territorial limits of the United States or are called for military service within the United States on or after the seventh day before Election Day.

Keeping Your Records Current

To receive your voting material in a timely manner for all future elections, be sure to keep your information up to date.

Re-register to vote to update your:

• Name
• Political Party Affiliation
• Permanent Military and/or Overseas Address
• Military and/or Overseas Status

You can re-register online through the Secretary of State’s website or by mailing a filled out Federal Post Card Application to our office.

Contact our office by email or phone to update your:

• Contact Information (i.e., email address, phone number, fax number, mailing address, etc.)
• Ballot Delivery Preference (i.e., mail, email, fax)

When contacting us directly, make sure to include your full name, date of birth, and Placer County residence address so that we can make changes to your voter record.

Please Note: You may also contact our office to cancel your military or overseas status.

Voting Options

Voter Correspondence and Ballot Delivery Preference

By selecting a ballot delivery preference, you decide how you will receive your voting packet and all future correspondence from our office. You may choose to receive your election materials by mail, email, or fax.

To select a ballot delivery preference, you can either re-register to vote or contact our office directly.

Please Note: All voting material will automatically be sent by mail unless an alternate ballot delivery preference was selected at the time of registration or has since been requested.

Voting Packet

Voting packets are issued according to the voter’s designated ballot delivery preference. Packets may vary depending on the method of delivery.

Voting Packets Include:

• A precinct-specific ballot (paper or PDF)
• Oath of Voter (for returning ballot by fax)
• Envelope Wrap Around Image (for electronic ballots only, choosing to return ballot by mail)
• An Official Placer County Return Envelope (mail packet only)*
• An Official Placer County Voter Information Guide (paper or link to online version)

*Please Note: Due to the nature of email and fax, voters who wish to return their voted emailed or faxed ballots by mail are required to provide their own return envelope. Any standard-sized envelope may be used; however, you must be able to affix the completed Envelope Wrap Around Image (provided in your Voting Packet) for your ballot to be accepted. Please consult the voting instructions provided in your Voting Packet for more information or contact our office at 530-886-5650 (toll-free at 1-800-824-8683) or via email at [email protected].

Returning Your Voted Ballot

All UOCAVA ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received within 7 days of the election to be considered timely. All UOCAVA ballots submitted in person or via fax must be received by the Placer County Elections Office or any Placer County vote center prior to 8:00 PM on Election Day. Any ballots delivered in person after 8:00 PM on Election Day cannot be counted. Completed voting packets may only be returned by mail or by fax and must include:

Returning by Mail:

• Voted Ballot
• Completed official return envelope (from mailed voting packets only) or the completed Envelope Wrap Around Image (from emailed or faxed voting packets), affixed to a voter-provided envelope.

Returning by Fax:

• Voted Ballot
• Completed Oath of Voter Statement*

*Please Note: In signing the statement, you acknowledge that by returning your voted ballot via fax, and due to the nature of that return method, you have relinquished your right to a secret ballot. We request that you include the signed Oath of Voter Statement, and ballot in the same transmission.

If you plan to return your ballot by fax but require a toll-free fax number, or require after hours assistance you may contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at: https://www.fvap.gov/guide/appendix/toll-free

To check the status of your returned ballot, use Placer County’s Vote by Mail Tracking tool.

Alternate Voting Method:

• If you are a military or overseas voter but have not received your voting packet, you may vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). The FWAB is a placeholder ballot and is counted in the event you are unable to vote and return your official Placer County ballot.

Additional Resources

If you have any questions regarding this process or have questions not addressed here, please contact our office directly at 530-886-5650 (toll-free at 1-800-824-8683) or via email at [email protected] We are here to assist you. You may also contact the following:

• The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at www.fvap.gov. The FVAP’s website provides an overview of the FVAP as well as links to state government homepages and other sites with election information. The website is updated on a regular basis to provide the most current information and news for uniformed and overseas citizens. The website provides information and online forms such as the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA, SF 76) and the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB, SF 186), which can be viewed or downloaded on the website.
• The Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) at www.overseasvotefoundation.org. OVF’s website features a complete election official directory for all fifty states and United States territories, an overseas voter registration/absentee (vote-by-mail) ballot request wizard (RAVA), and a voter help desk.
• The Secretary of State (SOS) at www.sos.ca.gov. The SOS’s website provides online voter registration, general information about UOCAVA, as well as information on upcoming elections, voting in California, and ballot measures.