Headed to Eretz Yisroel for the Year? – Make Sure You Are Ready To Vote In The General Election!
Memo: Participating in the 2024 general election from abroad
To: Class of 2024 graduates and their parents
As you all know, we are in a crucial electoral period in our country and state, where the importance of each and every vote cannot be overstated. As we approach the November general election our community must out-perform the below-average turnout we had during the primary election in May. It is so important that our community members come out in force to cast their ballots – even those who are studying abroad in Eretz Yisroel. With the expansion of mail-in-voting over the past few years, students studying in Eretz Yisroel are able – and have a duty – to utilize the opportunity of exercising their right to vote.
Voter Registration
If you are already registered to vote – great! If you have not yet registered to vote, you can easily do so online by clicking this link. The application is simple and should only take a few minutes to complete. If you are not sure if you are registered or you wish to make any changes to your registration, you can look up your registration by clicking here and following the instructions.
Mail-in Voting
Anyone who will be abroad during the general election period (early voting is Oct. 24 – 31 and election day is Nov 5) should submit a mail-in ballot request by clicking here and following the instructions. We encourage you to submit the request already now – before you travel – but the deadline to submit a mail-in ballot request is not until the end of October. The board of elections offers mail-in ballots to be emailed, faxed, or physically mailed. We suggest requesting it to be sent via email (and then printed yourself).
The ballots will be emailed to your email address (from your ballot request form) in advance of election day. Once you have received your ballot, you will need to print it and fill it out.
Once your ballot is filled out there are several options for their submission:
- You can drop off your completed ballot at the U.S. Embassy or a U.S. Consulate following the instructions on the ballot (how to address the envelope and regular U.S. postage) and they will have it mailed in the U.S. to the proper board of elections. Ballots mailed from the embassy or consulate will not require additional international postage.
- Alternatively, to make the process of mailing the completed ballots simpler, staff of the National Agudah Voting Project will be communicating with organizations in Israel (and with seminaries/yeshivos) to create local drop-off points and ballot collection initiatives. Once again, it will need to be addressed and stamped as necessary.
Collection details will be communicated once the details are finalized closer to the November election date.
In an effort to help streamline this process and assure you are kept informed of further details, please take a few seconds to fill out our Mail-in Voter Follow-up Form, which will help us oversee the process of your mail-in ballot’s arrival, delivery, and return.
Thanks so much for your participation in this important project. Please contact our office at 410-484-3632 or vote@agudahmd.org if you have any questions.
Wishing you a safe and successful year!