The FWAB: your backup ballot when yours hasn't arrived

If your absentee ballot is missing and the election is close, you can still vote: the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot lets you write in your choices for federal offices and send them yourself.

The short version

• The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB, Standard Form 186) is a backup ballot for overseas and military voters whose state ballot hasn't arrived in time. The current version is Rev. 08-2026 [1].
• Every state must accept it in elections for federal office, under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) [2].
• It covers President and Vice President, US Senator and US Representative. Some states also let you use it for state and local contests and ballot measures [1][3].
• You write in the candidate's name or party. FVAP's online assistant walks you through it [1][4].
• If your real ballot shows up later, fill it out and send it too. "Your election official will count only one ballot" [1].

When to use it

The FWAB is Plan B, not Plan A. It's meant for voters who already asked for an absentee ballot, usually with the Federal Post Card Application, and haven't received it in time to meet the state's deadline [1][3].

Federal law requires states to send requested ballots to overseas voters at least 45 days before a federal election, unless the Defense Department grants a hardship waiver [2]. So if you requested on time and you're getting close to Election Day with nothing in your inbox or mailbox, something has gone wrong. FVAP's long-standing advice is to consider the FWAB if your state ballot hasn't arrived within 30 days of the election [4].

Before reaching for the FWAB, take two minutes to:

1. Check your spam folder and any old email address you might have listed.
2. Look up your status on your state's or county's election website.
3. Email your local election office. Sometimes the ballot is sitting in an online portal waiting for you to log in.

If none of that turns it up, don't wait for a miracle. Fill in the FWAB.

Can it register you too?

In some states, yes. The FWAB's Voter Information page can double as a registration and ballot request [1]. But FVAP lists 24 jurisdictions that require you to register and request a ballot first, with an FPCA: Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming [1].

In states that do accept it as a registration, it has to arrive in time to meet both the registration deadline and the ballot deadline [5]. That makes it a risky substitute for an FPCA. Register first, every January, and keep the FWAB in your back pocket.

What's on the ballot

The FWAB has write-in lines for [1][3]:

The ballot asks you to vote by "writing the NAME or PARTY of the candidates you choose" [1]. Writing a party name is allowed, which helps if you don't know every name on the list. Even so, spell names carefully and write clearly. If your state lets you use the FWAB for state and local contests, check your state's page in FVAP's Voting Assistance Guide before you count on it.

Finding out who's running

You don't need to have the candidate list memorized. FVAP's online FWAB assistant helps you look up candidates for federal offices [4]. Your state or county election office also publishes sample ballots, usually on its website. Look up the races for your voting residence, which is the US address on your FPCA, not where you live now.

Filling it in, step by step

You can use the paper version or the online assistant at FVAP.gov, which walks you through the form and produces a PDF to print [4]. The steps:

1. Complete the Voter Information page. This has your name, voting residence, mailing address, contact details, and the boxes for registering and requesting future ballots if your state allows that [1].
2. Add what your state requires. New Mexico, Tennessee and Virginia need your full Social Security number. Puerto Rico wants your mother's and father's first names. Vermont requires a specific oath written in Section 6 [1].
3. Get witnesses if needed. Alabama requires two witness signatures. Alaska, Virginia and Wisconsin require one [1]. US embassies and consulates can help with witnessing and notarizing for voting, and they don't charge for it.
4. Sign and date the Voter Information page. A missing signature is one of the most common reasons a backup ballot gets tossed [4].
5. Mark the Official Backup Ballot. Write in your choices. Do not sign the ballot itself or put any personal information on it, so it stays secret [1].
6. Seal the ballot. Fold it and seal it in an envelope marked "ballot enclosed," or use the self-sealing form [1].
7. Send everything to your local election office. The Voter Information page plus the sealed ballot go in the mailing envelope. If you're already registered and have a ballot request on file, those two items are all you send [1].

Sending it back in time

All states accept the FWAB by mail, and many accept it by email or fax [1]. If your state allows electronic return and you use it, you'll sign a statement waiving your right to a secret ballot. FVAP's guide includes that wording: "I understand that by faxing or emailing my voted ballot I am voluntarily waiving my right to a secret ballot" [3].

Deadlines are where FWABs die. States differ on whether a ballot must be postmarked by Election Day or physically received by a set date, and the date for overseas ballots can be later than the domestic one. Look up your state's FWAB rules on FVAP.gov before you send. If mail is your only option, consider a courier or your embassy's ballot drop-off: before federal elections, many US embassies accept completed ballots and forward them through diplomatic mail. Check the embassy's voting page, because drop-off deadlines come well before Election Day.

Treat the deadline the way you'd treat Thanksgiving travel: leave earlier than you think you need to.

If your real ballot arrives later

This happens all the time. You send the FWAB, and a week later your state ballot shows up. The FWAB form's instruction: fill out and return your state ballot as well, "noting that you had previously sent in this ballot," because "your election official will count only one ballot" [1].

Older FVAP guidance explains how that usually plays out: if both arrive by the deadline, the state ballot is the one that's counted [4]. Your state ballot lists every race on your ballot, including state and local contests the FWAB may not cover, so sending it in is worth it.

What you should not do:

• Don't skip the state ballot because you already sent an FWAB. It may cover races the FWAB can't.
• Don't send two FWABs in the hope of improving the odds.
• Don't panic about double voting. Election offices handle this routinely and will count only one ballot from you [1].

Quick checklist

The FWAB works the same for every voter, whatever their politics. If you'd like help filling it in, FVAP answers questions at vote@fvap.gov, embassy voting assistance officers can help, and Democrats Abroad and Republicans Overseas both assist Americans abroad with registration and ballots. For the full schedule of what's coming, see the overseas voting calendar for 2027 and 2028.

Sources

1. Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, Standard Form 186, Rev. 08-2026 (FVAP)
2. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (U.S. Department of Justice)
3. 2026–2027 Voting Assistance Guide, Chapter 1 (FVAP)
4. FWAB fact sheet (FVAP, 2014)
5. Is there a deadline to submit the FWAB? (US Vote Foundation)

Keep reading

• Voting from abroad: the FPCA and FVAP
• How to register to vote from abroad, step by step
• Getting and returning your ballot from abroad
• Why overseas ballots get rejected and how to avoid it