Did You Vote?

October 23, 2012

Deputy Public Affairs Officer Michael Turner cast his 2012 U.S. election absentee ballot.

On October 23, two weeks before Election Day, Deputy Public Affairs Officer Michael Turner cast his 2012 U.S. election absentee ballot at Embassy Hanoi’s Consular Section.

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they can do that is by not voting” said Franklin D. Roosevelt many years ago and to this day, true to this statement, millions of Americans exercise their right to vote even when they live abroad.

While U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places, they provide opportunities for Americans abroad to vote.  Embassy Hanoi’s Consular section provided voting information and assistance to over 200 Americans in Vietnam during this election cycle.

Same-day in-person voting is not available outside the United States.  U.S. citizens living abroad wanting to participate in the 2012 U.S. elections, should return their absentee ballots to their local election officials.  The majority of states require voted ballots to reach local election officials by the close of polls on Tuesday, November 6.