Dubai: Obviously, same-day voting for American residents living outside of their native homeland was simply not allowed on Tuesday as Americans headed to the polls in one of the most hotly contested and dirtiest election battles in recent memory.

But American officials said advance voting by US expatriates living in the UAE ahead of Tuesday’s election was extremely healthy as expats in the hundreds returned absentee ballots to the US with the help of the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and US Consulate in Dubai.

The actual number of expatriate ballots cast ahead of the election day on Tuesday are not known because absentee ballots are sent to each expat’s home state for counting before the end of election day.

One US official told Gulf News that expatriates were invited to drop off their ballots at diplomatic missions in the UAE to be sent free of charge back to the states for inclusion in the overall election.

Staff acting as what are called “embassy voting assistance officers” were tasked to receive absentee ballots in recent weeks and help ensure American expatriates could exercise their franchise even though they live half-a-world away.

“The US Embassy estimates that there are more than 40,000 American citizens living in the UAE. It is impossible for us to know the exact number of people who have voted in the 2012 Presidential election, as the US Mission to the UAE does not need to be directly involved in that process,” the official told Gulf News on Tuesday.

“That said, over the course of the last month, our Consulate in Dubai and Embassy in Abu Dhabi have organised several events for American citizens to turn in their ballots, and the response has been overwhelming,” he said. “Hundreds of American citizens participated in US Mission organised events to turn in their ballots at the US Embassy and US Consulate. The collection of ballots and tallying of votes, including absentee ballots submitted from overseas, is conducted on a state by state basis.”

One American expatriate living in Dubai said he didn’t cast his vote in the UAE because he felt it was too much of an inconvenience.

“There was just too much paperwork and my vote in my state would not have mattered because the election was already decided there,” he said.