Absentee Voting

Guidelines to Absentee Voting

3GCA, § 10101. Conditions Upon the Right to Vote

Any qualified voter of the territory of Guam may, as provided in this Chapter and subject to the conditions of this Section, vote at any election by absentee ballot if he will be prevented from personally going to the polls and voting on election day because of:

Instructions:

If you are requesting for an absentee ballot please follow the following steps:

Step 1. Print out the Absentee Application (view/download here)

Step 2. Fill out the Application, and sign the affirmation on both the first and second page

• Please insure to indicate a Email address if available
• Please insure handwriting is legible

Step 3. Please mail your application to

You may also scan your application and Email it to the GEC at vote[at]gec[dot]guam[dot]gov

**Please be advised the last day to submit your absentee application for the Primary Election is August 29, 2012. However, the GEC recommends that you submit your application sooner than the deadline, so that you may receive and submit your absentee ballot in a timely manner**

Home-Bound Voters

Any voter who is unable to vote at the polls on Election Day, due to any illness or physical disability may vote by Homebound. The Homebound process begins on August 2, 2012 to August 31, 2012

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible.

Step 1. Print out the Absentee Application (view/download here)

Step 2. Fill out the Application, and sign the affirmation on both the first and second page

• Please insure to indicate a Email address if available
• Please insure handwriting is legible
• Please provide a contact number as well as a point of contact

Step 3. Please attach a map to your residence.

Step 4. Please mail your application to:

In-Office Voting

For any registered voter who will be leaving the island thirty (30) days prior to an election or will be prevented to vote at the polls on Election Day pursuant to §10101 of Title 3 GCA; may come into the GEC upon completing and absentee application cast their absentee ballot beginning August 2, 2012 to August 31, 2012 for the 2012 Primary Election and beginning October 8, 2012 to November 1, 2012 for the 2012 General Election.

Any unregistered who will be leaving the island thirty (30) days prior to an election or will be prevented to vote at the polls on Election Day pursuant to §10101 of Title 3 GCA; may come into the office of the GEC and register provided they show proof of U.S. citizenship in the form of a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Birth Certificate. Deadline for registration for the 2012 Primary Election is August 22, 2012 and deadline for registration for the 2012 General Election is October 26, 2012.

In-Office Voting

Any voter who will be prevented from voting at the polls on election day due to:

For any registered voter who will be leaving the island thirty (30) days prior to an election or will be prevented to vote at the polls on Election Day pursuant to §10101 of Title 3 GCA; may come into the GEC upon completing and absentee application cast their absentee ballot begging August 2, 2012 to August 31, 2012 for the 2012 Primary Election and beginning October 8, 2012 to November 1, 2012 for the 2012 General Election.

Any unregistered person who will be leaving the island thirty (30) days prior to an election or will be prevented to vote at the polls on Election Day pursuant to §10101 of Title 3 GCA; may come into the office of the GEC and register provided they show proof of U.S. citizenship in the form of a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Birth Certificate. Deadline for registration for the 2012 Primary Election is August 22, 2012 and deadline for registration for the 2012 General Election is October 26, 2012.

UOCAVA

The Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

UOCAVA allows the following citizens to vote by absentee

• Members of the Uniformed service ( on active duty ) and merchant marine
• Their family members
• U.S. citizen residing outside the United States

Members of the U.S. Uniformed service or merchant marine and their family members may vote absentee while away from their place of voting residence, wherever stationed, inside or outside the United States.

U.S. citizens residing outside the United States and its territories may vote in the state or territory where they last resided immediately prior to departing the United States, even if many years have elapsed and the citizens maintains no residence in the state or territory and the intent to return to the state or territory may not be certain.

UOCAVA requires that states and territories send the groups listed their Federal absentee ballot at Least 45 days prior to any Primary, General or Special Elections; UOCAVA also allows the groups listed to receive their Federal blank ballot and vote in one of three (3) ways: email, air mail, or facsimile upon request.

It is important to note that it is only applicable to the Federal Office Ballot.

UOCAVA voters may go to the www.fvap.gov website and fill out a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and submitted to the GEC; or UOCAVA voters may fill out the attached absentee application along with ballot preference sheet and submit it to the GEC via email at vote@gec.guam.gov, air mail or facsimile (information stated at the bottom of this page).

Registration

Any person seeking to register by mail, must submit a completed a Federal Post Card Application (FPAC) or an absentee application to the GEC, along with an attached copy of a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Birth Certificate with a picture I.D. on or before August 22, 2012. Your timely submission of the required documents will provide the GEC ample time to process and forward you an absentee ballot.

Absentee Application (view/download here)

Ballot Preference Sheet(view/download here)
 

Registering

3GCA, § 3107. Application Constitutes Registration.

The application for an absentee ballot shall constitute a sufficient registration of the voter in the municipality, municipal division or district in which the voter resides; provided, that the application is received by the Commission prior to the closing of the registration rolls, and provided that the provisions of § 3102 of this Title pertaining to citizenship, age and residency on Guam are complied with to the same degree as by a person registering under § 3102. Such application constituting registration shall be preserved and used by the Commission in the same manner as it preserves and uses affidavits of registration

SOURCE: GC § 2059.3, added by P.L. 12-149. Amended by P.L. 25-146:1

An individual seeking to register must meet the following qualifications as provided in §3101, Title 3 GCA to be a registered voter on Guam:

• Must not be confined to a mental institution;
• Must not be judicially declared insane;
• Must not be committed under a sentence of imprisonment;
• Must be a citizen of the United States;
• Must be 18 years of age by the day set for an election; and
• Must be a resident of Guam.

What you need to register

You must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. A U.S. Passport, Certificate of U.S. Citizenship, or Certificate of Naturalization alone is sufficient. If you do not have either of these documents, please provide the Registrar with an original or certified copy of one document from list (i) AND one document from list (ii) of 3GCA §3102 (excerpted here for your convenience):

Step 1. Print out the Absentee Application (view/download here)

Step 2. Fill out the Application, and sign the affirmation on both the first and second page

• Please insure to indicate a Email address if available
• Please insure handwriting is legible

Step 3. Please attach a copy of your proof of U.S. Citizenship

Step 4. Please mail your application to