Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot
Federal backup ballot for overseas and military voters whose state ballot has not arrived.
The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, the backup ballot for military and overseas voters, no longer lets a voter tick a box saying they have never lived in the United States after a Pentagon revision in late August 2026.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot
Lost its never-lived-in-US checkbox
US Midterms 2026: Pentagon cuts a box from overseas formsBackground
The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, Standard Form 186, is a fallback for absent service members, their eligible family members and US citizens abroad. A voter WHO has requested a state absentee ballot but not received it in time can cast this one instead. It covers federal offices; state rules differ on state and local contests, and 24 states and territories require the voter to have registered and requested a ballot first.
In late August 2026 the Federal Voting Assistance Program revised it alongside the Federal Post Card Application, removing the 'never lived in the United States' checkbox. The Office of Management and Budget gave emergency approval on 28 August for six months, and the current version is Rev.08-2026 under OMB number 0704-0502.
Congress provided for the ballot in the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The revision arrived as states prepared their first military and overseas ballots, due out by 19 September, though the Pentagon says states can still accept older versions of the form.
What is the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot?
When should an overseas voter use the FWAB?
What changed on the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot in 2026?
