Problematic Changes to Federal Overseas Voter Forms

The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and the Federal Write in Ballot (FWAB), the voting forms used by overseas Americans, were changed in late August without customary public notice or comment.

Two types of changes were made:

1. The FPCA and FWAB forms historically contained the following option box to check: “I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, I have never lived in the United States.” This box has been removed.
2. ID section now for the first time (i) asks voters to make declaratory statements, (ii) asks voters to state they have reviewed “state-specific instructions” and (iii) lists a U.S. passport as an ID option.

The new FPCA is here and the new FWAB is here.

The removal of the option from the FPCA and FWAB creates at least two problems:

1. Voter deterrence: Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow U.S. citizens who were born abroad and have never resided in the United States to vote. Removing this option could lead some of these citizens to mistakenly think that they have lost their right to vote. Others who understand that they remain legally eligible to vote may be confused about which remaining box they should select, but the federal government provides no clear guidance. All these overseas voters may be deterred from voting.

2. Election official burdens and risk: This option gives election officials important information about whether a voter is eligible to receive a ballot and helps them determine which ballot the voter should receive. In the current environment of heightened scrutiny of voter eligibility, issuing a ballot to an individual who is ineligible to receive one, or issuing the wrong type of ballot, could expose election officials to unnecessary risk. Without this option, they may have to take additional steps, creating administrative burdens, to avoid this risk.

The changes in the ID section create the following problems:

1. The “state specific instructions” are not part of the form and citizens are not told how to find them. Further, there is no reason to ask for passport information – election officials cannot verify passports and UOCAVA does not require them.

Although the changes have already been put in place, public comments are now being collected via the Federal Registry.

Comments may be made by snail mail or online. We suggest that you submit your comments online.

Please submit your comments to the FPCA here:

Please submit your comments to the FWAB here:

When on the website, click on SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT and follow the instructions.

Comments may be made until 11:59 pm (EST) on November 9.

Please pick and choose from the sample text below. We encourage you to adapt to your own wording. The more personalized the better. You can make the same or similar comments for each form.

I am very unhappy that the form was changed without public comment, just before the midterm elections. No emergency that could require these changes was ever communicated. Please disclose publicly what this emergency was.

Please put the option “I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country. I have never lived in the United States” back on the FPCA and FWAB. The removal of this option could lead those U.S. citizens to mistakenly interpret the removal as a change in law and deter them from voting. Removing the option also creates problems for election officials. The option gives election officials important information about whether a voter is eligible to receive a ballot, and which ballot the voter should receive. Issuing a ballot to an individual who is ineligible to receive one, or issuing the wrong type of ballot, could expose election officials to unnecessary risk.

Please revert back to the ID requirements from the previous FPCA and FWAB. The new forms do not tell voters how to find the state specific instructions that the forms require them to read. As to passport numbers, overseas voters are not legally required to submit this information in order to vote and, in any event, state election officials cannot verify this information anyway.

Please contact the AARO office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or + 33 (0)1 47 20 24 15 to let us know that you have done it or if you need assistance.

Thank you for helping us protect the vote!