Message for U.S. Citizens – U.S. Embassy Hanoi and U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (August 10, 2020)
Voting information and Updates
In order to vote in the November 2020 elections, all overseas U.S. citizens must register with their local election office in their state of voting residence and request an absentee ballot. One way to do that is through a Federal Post Card Application. Whether you are a first-time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, the Federal Voting Assistance Program office encourages you to complete an FPCA each year to ensure your participation in elections as an overseas absentee voter. The FPCA acts as both a registration and absentee ballot request form and can be completed online here. Many jurisdictions also provide ballots electronically (via fax or email). Voters should consult their voting officials to clarify the ballot delivery options available to them and ascertain relevant deadlines.
Returning your FPCA or ballot through the U.S. Embassy or Consulate: You can return your completed FPCA or signed ballot to the United States by physically dropping them off or mailing them to the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
- Ballots can be dropped off at U.S. Embassy Hanoi, American Citizen Services unit Monday through Thursday, between 1pm and 4pm. Ballots may be dropped off at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City every Wednesday between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ballots must be placed in paid postage return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient U.S. domestic postage so they may be delivered to the proper local election authorities.
- If you are sending your ballots and voting materials by mail to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, you will need two envelopes. Address the first envelope to the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate General at the mailing addresses below. Address the second envelope to your local state election office and enclose your FPCA or ballot inside. The second envelope needs to be postage-paid or have sufficient U.S. postage to be delivered to your local election office from the U.S. sorting facility where it will be mailed. Seal the second envelope, place it inside the first envelope, and mail the package to the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. It can take up to four weeks for election-related materials to reach their destination in the United States.
You can download and print a U.S. postage-paid envelope here.
Mailing addresses for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City:
U.S. Embassy Hanoi
American Citizen Services
Consular Section
Attention: Voting Assistance Officer
VoteHanoi@state.gov
U.S. Consulate General in HCMC
American Citizen Services
4 Le Duan Blvd., Dist. 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Attn: Voting Assistance Officer
VoteHoChiMinhCity@state.gov
Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) website, FVAP.gov. If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact U.S. Embassy Hanoi’s Voting Assistance Officer at VoteHanoi@state.gov and U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City at VoteHoChiMinhCity@state.gov.
