With Democratic control of the Senate, the House of Representatives and governor's mansions in the United States up for grabs in midterm elections Nov. 8, expatriates in Moscow aren't exactly rushing to try tip the balance.


"Elections? What elections?" said Lisa Johnson, an educator here who is registered in Atlanta, Georgia.


"I have enough trouble keeping track of buying groceries," said Gary Bane, a businessman from New York. "I don't think I'll bother."


Logistics and a lack of information about issues and candidates are cited by many who, like Johnson and Bane, are sitting this year out. And for those who will bother, time is slipping away for tackling what can be a cumbersome process to get an absentee ballot to vote.


Still, enough time remains for those with determination, generous state regulations and -- ideally -- a fax machine to cast their ballots.


"Obviously it is getting late," said Aldo Sirotic, head of the American Citizenship Services division of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, which handles absentee voting. But he advised prospective voters who have not already made requests through their local registrars in the United States to submit immediately a Federal Postcard Application for an absentee ballot, available from his office. The application can be submitted by mail -- both the embassy and DHL courier service offer free service for ballot applications and completed ballots -- or, in many states, by fax.


As long as the application has been submitted by Oct. 24, voters may request a federal write-in ballot from the embassy that will be valid if the absentee ballot mailed from the local registar's office has not yet been received. Some states, including California and New York, will fax absentee ballots upon request, and some allow ballots to be returned by fax as well.


However, both the federal write-in ballot and the ballot one receives via the postcard application are only valid for federal elections.


All 435 House seats are up for election this year, along with 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships.