Voting While Living Abroad (As a US Citizen)
One of the many questions we get asked by people about to embark on full-time international travel is, “What about voting?”
We wondered, too, so I did some deep research. I reached out to the League of Women Voters, who were very helpful and who also connected me to sfvoteabroad@sfgov.org, who also gave us valuable information. We also got information from Overseas Vote Foundation and Vote.org. I used one method to fill out the paperwork, and Kevin used another, and what I’ve included below is the most straightforward. Let’s work on this together now while it’s fresh in your mind!
Before I detail the process, let’s first answer the question about whether you lose your right to vote by living abroad. I was on a forum recently about this topic and someone asked if someone living overseas “deserved” to vote since they weren’t having to live with the consequences of their voting decisions. Even though we gave up our San Francisco apartment in October of 2022, we’re still paying taxes and are dependent on the US for our passport, social security, and many other government-related programs. We feel everyone who’s a US citizen deserves the right to vote.
US citizens living abroad do not lose their right to vote. Unless you’ve renounced your citizenship or are a felon (this varies depending on your state), you still have a Constitutional right to vote and have a say in the government of the United States. You must be over 18 years old and fill in the proper overseas voter registration information in advance of the voter registration deadline.
The process for overseas voting is governed at the federal level through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Unlike domestic absentee voting where each state defines its own rules, overseas voters follow a program that is consistent regardless of what state you are from. There are ZERO REQUIREMENTS for overseas voters to continue to maintain a residence or to own property in the US in order to vote. However, you will need to go through this process EACH YEAR that you are living overseas, or whenever your forwarding address changes.
If you’re asking HOW you can exercise your voting rights when, like us, you no longer have a home base in the US and your virtual mailbox is in another state from the one you vacated, be reassured that those aren’t true obstacles. Your last-known address is still the address that the state will use as your voting precinct for the races for your ballot.
There’s some confusing terminology, but don’t get caught up in it. Absentee ballots are sometimes called mail-in ballots, but they are not necessarily the same. Overseas Absentee ballots are used because a voter is physically unable to vote at their local voting center on Election Day, typically military or overseas citizens—exactly people like us. Some states don’t distinguish between the terms “absentee” and “mail-in ballots,” which are sometimes provided as a convenience, or they have a more generalized meaning for absentee ballots. But whatever you call them, as an overseas citizen, you are still entitled to vote!
Easy, peasy one-page form for US citizens for overseas voting.
Best Process to Submit Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request for Travelers Living Abroad
There are multiple ways to notify your state that you will need an absentee ballot using the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website, but we take you step by step below and answer many of the common questions you may have along the way. The process may look exhaustive, but I promise you that it’s not complicated! The full contents only take up a single page! Here’s a downloadable version if you’d rather hand write it. However, the method below is the most straightforward and comprehensive method, and we answer nearly every question you might have! Let’s get started!
If you have questions, you also can reach out directly to your local election office. Here’s a link with the contact information by state.
Step 1. Go to the FVAP.gov website. If you see a red button on the home page “Request your ballot now, click it and go to Step 2. If not, at the top of the page is a tab called Election Forms and Materials. Click it and then the example screen should show up. Click the first button on the left, Fill Out the FPCA.
Online Assistant page of FVAP.gov website
Step 2. You should now be on the Online Assistant page of the FVAP website. Scroll to the bottom of the page, read the brief Privacy Act Statement, and click the I Accept button. From here you can follow the prompts and go through the form on your own, but if you have questions along the way, walk through the form with us and we’ll try to proactively answer all the questions you might have!
Step 3. Section: State of Voting Residence. This will help you at the end, so don’t skip clicking on your state. The actual online form is the same across all the states because the overseas request form is run at a federal level, but the state information will help with mailing/emailing the completed form at the end of the process. Note that you cannot merely choose any state you wish or pick an address that served you for a temporary stay or visit. This also cannot be a PO Box. “For overseas citizens, it is usually the last [state and county] you lived at in the U.S. before moving overseas. You do not need to have any current ties with this address.” Press Next.
Step 4. Use the drop down to complete your Jurisdiction, which is the county of your last known address.
Important: Absentee Ballot Classification section
Step 5. Section: Absentee Voting Classification. Choosing U.S. citizen living outside the country and I intend to return will allow you to vote in local as well as federal elections. If you choose, U.S. citizen living outside the country, and my intent to return is uncertain, your citizenship is not in jeopardy, BUT there’s a good chance you will get a ballot that only allows you to vote for president and federal offices. You MUST choose a classification. Be aware that voting for non-federal offices may result in state and local taxation. You might want to seek tax advice when changing your voting residence if this is something you are concerned about.
Step 6. Section: My Information. Remember to only include the last four digits of your social security number.
Political Party: Why does the form ask this? If you would like to vote in federal primary elections, you’ll need to include a party affiliation. That will be the only party’s primary ballot that you’ll receive. Without this information, most states won’t be able to send you the correct ballot. If you only want to vote in the General Election, you can type NONE.
Step 7. Section: Voting Residence. In this section, include your last known address in the United States. Even if you have a virtual mailbox somewhere, that’s not considered your official address for voting purposes. Note: your election office will not send voting materials to this address, so it’s won’t matter if someone moved in after you.
Step 8. Sections: Mailing Address and Forwarding Address. You MUST provide your current address in order to be approved to receive an absentee ballot. Election officials want to be assured you aren’t actually at your last known address and disqualified for an overseas absentee ballot. By completing this form, you are saying that you live overseas outside of your voting district, which is a requirement to be voting overseas absentee. The second part asks for your mail forwarding address (where you actually receive mail). This can be your virtual mailbox location or your permanent overseas address. Since we move around, we have no permanent overseas address. We provided our virtual mailbox location, which is in a different state.
Step 9. Section: Method to Receive Ballot and Contact Information. You can choose to have your overseas absentee ballot mailed, emailed, or faxed to you. On the flip side, nearly all states require completed overseas ballots to be printed and returned on paper. Be prepared to print your ballot and a label for a ballot return envelope. Printing while traveling sometimes is a hassle, but having your ballot snail mailed to another country can cause delays. However, if you think printing your ballot won’t be possible, you might want to choose the selection to have your ballot mailed versus emailed.
Provide your contact information. Do this. If you don’t provide this information, election officials won’t be able to send you a ballot or reach out if there are questions regarding your application.
“Additional Information” section
Step 10. Section: Additional Information. My choice was to receive ballots for All elections for which I am eligible. I want to have a voice in all the elections available to me. Because you selected the state of your last known address, the bottom half of this section will be populated for your state. If you have special circumstances to include, do so. Vermont and Puerto Rico residents have additional state guidelines and should consult the FVAP.gov website for specific additional instructions.
Step 11. Section: Review. Carefully read through all your answers to ensure that all your info is correct. Double check your contact information! Press Next.
Step 12. Section: Print and Finish Your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). This section is in multiple parts. On the first section, Complete your FPCA Package, go ahead and click the red button, Download PDF Package. At the bottom of the page, you can choose to click the bottom button to get voting alerts.
What the PDF Package Contains
Page 1 - Election Dates/Deadlines for your state and your overseas location.
Page 2 - Instructions for your state. Note that your state may not require you to actually mail in a hard copy of the document, but they usually will require that you print the completed form, handwrite your signature, and scan it back to them versus using an electronic signature on the document. This is a hassle, but it’s the best way to protect your vote.
This handy tool shows your state’s submission methods
Package submission requirements (vary by state). US Vote Foundation has a handy tool on their website that details the various ways that your state will accept your Overseas Registration Form, so don’t go to the hassle of printing a mailing envelope just yet. Click this link to get to their website tool, choose your state, then click the tab for Overseas & Military and then Voter Materials Transmission Options. In this example, you can see that California will accept Overseas Absentee Ballot Requests that are emailed. Hooray for us! The instructions for your state on page 2 of the FPCA package will include an email address for you to use. If you are registering to vote for the first time, you may still be required to mail in a hard copy of the form. The local phone number for your election office is on this page if you have any questions. The workers here are super helpful.
Scroll down to see links to check on your ballot
Bonus: Slightly lower on the page is an option to check on your overseas ballot, verify if you’re registered, and tell you whether your ballot has been counted.
Page 3 - Transmission Cover Sheet. Include this page with your signed and dated handwritten signature and indicate the number of pages you will be submitting. In our case, it was two pages.
Page 4 - Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request. This is the completed document that should be transmitted with the cover sheet.
What If I Don’t Receive My Overseas Ballot?
Overseas ballots should arrive no later than 45 days before an election. If you don’t have your ballot 30 days before an election, reach out to your state’s local election office and they will resend it.
Conclusion
Phew! We hope these step-by-step instructions were helpful and that you are on your way to being registered as an Overseas voter. Let us know in the comments that you have an overseas ballot heading your way!
If you are interested in the virtual mailbox service we use, here’s an article telling all about it: How to Stay Connected to Your Mail While Traveling the World.
