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IF YOU ARE A U.S. CITIZEN PLANNING TO VOTE VIA THE CONSULATE IN DUBAI, PLEASE NOTE ALL ENVELOPES YOU USE TO MAIL YOUR BALLOT MUST BE OPEN FOR INSPECTION.
That& #39;s despite state requirements for envelope sealing and whatever concern you may have about others seeing your ballot.
That& #39;s despite state requirements for envelope sealing and whatever concern you may have about others seeing your ballot.
I& #39;ve been an overseas U.S. voter for over a decade now in several countries. Typically, I receive a packet by email from my county board of elections. I print and fill out the ballot, seal it with affidavits and drop it off at the nearest U.S. diplomatic post.
This morning, I went to the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. The G4S private security guards there refused to take my ballot, saying it needed to be open. I showed them how I need to have a signed affidavit on the mailing envelope confirming I sealed it and followed instructions.
The G4S guards were kind and helpful as they could be, but said it was their orders. I volunteered to have the envelope scrubbed for nitrates and X-rayed. They swiped it twice for nitrates, but then came out and said I still would need to open the envelope.
By this point, another overseas U.S. voter casting a Maryland ballot showed up. They told her too she& #39;d need to open her envelope for inspection or use one of their envelopes. She told me she& #39;d been voting for 20 years from the United Arab Emirates and never had this happen.
As a Maryland voter, she could reseal her ballot and use the consulate& #39;s generic mailing envelope. As an Ohio voter, I need to have a sealed mailing envelope affidavit, as well as a sealed inner envelope with a separate affidavit identifying myself at risk of perjury.
At this point, a U.S. consular official spoke to me by telephone from the guard post. He said concerns over "white powder attacks" required them to have all envelopes open before being collected. I explained my concern over Ohio voter rules and keeping my ballot secret.
The guards asked me to wait outside for another official. A U.S. consular official later came and we had a discussion over the rules and my concerns. We agreed I& #39;d come back tomorrow with tape, a pen and my unassembled envelopes that I& #39;d construct under his watch.
I& #39;m lucky enough to have a job that grants me the time to vote, as well as to return again to the consulate tomorrow. If I lived in another emirate or had a job that didn& #39;t, that would have affected my ability to cast my ballot.
The U.S. official says these open-envelope rules now allow the consulate to take ballots 24 hours a day, as opposed to just during business hours. I suggested they needed to do more outreach to American voters about this change as I wasn& #39;t the only one tripped up by this.
In conclusion: IF YOU ARE A U.S. CITIZEN PLANNING TO VOTE VIA THE CONSULATE IN DUBAI, PLEASE NOTE ALL ENVELOPES YOU USE TO MAIL YOUR BALLOT MUST BE OPEN FOR INSPECTION.
As an update: U.S. Embassy Abuja and U.S. Consulate Lagos also asking American voters casting ballots from #Nigeria to similarly have their envelopes open for inspection.
