Swedish citizens living abroad who have registered to vote in the coming election, which officially takes place in Sweden on Sept. 19, can begin casting their absentee ballots now (the official begin was Thursday, Aug. 5.) You will need a package from your nearest Embassy or Consulate - http://www.val.se/det_svenska_valsystemet/rostning/brevrosta/

This follows the Valmyndigheten (Swedish Election Authority's) rule that an absentee vote can be mailed no earlier than 45 days prior to the actual election, and it must be mailed from outside Sweden. Mailing the letters from anywhere inside Sweden will invalidate the ballots.

In the prior election, of some half a million Swedish citizens who live outside the nation, about 50,000 Swedes cast ballots from abroad. According to the Swedish elections agency, some 130,000 Swedes living outside the country have registered earlier this year to vote by mail in the upcoming general national election. Registration is now closed and new registering to vote in the Sept. 19 election is no longer possible.