RIYADH, 18 September 2004 — The US Embassy here has announced that with the Oct. 12 deadline for voting in the US presidential election by absentee ballot now less than a month away, it would hold a special voter registration day tomorrow, Sept.19. The afternoon event, open to all American citizens residing in Saudi Arabia, will take place in the embassy’s multi-purpose room from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
“We want to again remind — and encourage — Americans living in Saudi Arabia to register and vote in the 2004 general election by absentee ballot,” said the embassy’s newly arrived Consul General Dennis Hankins. “Every vote counts!” he observed.
An Aug. 14 warden message noted that Americans could come to the embassy, or to the US consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, to get a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to vote by filling out the form. Americans can also ask the embassy or consulate to mail the form and other election materials to local officials in the United States on their behalf.
If the FPCA or absentee ballot must be notarized or witnessed, the embassy and consulates will provide that service free of charge.
According to Bob Keith, press attaché at the US Embassy in Riyadh, Americans can also use the website for the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at http://www.fvap.gov to register and request an absentee ballot on-line. The Voting Assistance Guide on the FVAP website contains valuable information on all aspects of the absentee voting process, including deadlines for submitting applications, which vary from state to state.
He said voting assistance can always be obtained at the embassy in Riyadh during normal American Citizens Service business hours, from 1:30 pm-3:30 pm, on Saturday and Wednesday. In Jeddah, these hours are from 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. In Dhahran, they are from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Saturday, and from 8:30 am-12:00 pm on Monday and Wednesday.
Americans with specific questions about absentee voting regulations and procedures can call the embassy’s Voting Assistance Officer, Tracy R. Brown, by phone at 01-488-3800, ext. 4986, or e-mail her at [email protected].
