Overseas Americans Voting Issues – An Update
The Attacks Continue
AARO has long and successfully advocated for the voting rights of American citizens abroad. But these rights are now endangered. In just the past year, AARO has defended against many attempts to eliminate or restrict these voting rights.
The Past Year in Voting
Below is a summary of a busy year for AARO on the voting front:
- In October 2024, AARO filed an amicus curiae brief (a “friend of the court” brief) in Pennsylvania with our partners, the Brennan Center for Justice and the U.S. Vote Foundation. We successfully defended the counting of ballots of overseas Pennsylvania voters, without applying the disenfranchising extra verification of identity and eligibility that the plaintiffs had requested. That suit was dismissed and your Pennsylvania votes were counted. This is the Hon. Guy Reschenthaler, et al., v. Secretary Al Schmidt, et al. case.
- AARO filed another amicus curiae brief in February 2025 in North Carolina with these same partners, where we successfully argued that the court could not change voting rules after the election, as requested by a judge who lost in the 2024 election. After six court rulings, some of which initially rejected the counting of your North Carolina votes, a U.S. federal court finally declared that they should be counted. This is the Jefferson Griffin v. North Carolina State Board of Elections and Allison Riggs case.
- Several other lawsuits were filed in connection with the November 2024 election, which AARO continuously monitored for possible action. None of them were successful.
- Twelve States do not allow some citizens born abroad to vote. AARO published an influential white paper on this topic and has been working with the American Bar Association this past year to stand up for the rights of these disenfranchised American overseas citizens. More on this issue will come soon.
- The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R. 22 / S. 128) threatens voting access for overseas Americans because it would require them, in order to register to vote, to show proof of citizenship in-person at their local election office. AARO sent many letters to Congress asking them to vote against the SAVE Act. AARO also put in place a membership advocacy campaign and many members participated. The SAVE Act passed the House. It is still languishing in the Senate; AARO was told informally in Washington DC at its annual Overseas Americans Week (OAW) that the Act will likely not come to a vote there.
- AARO has been monitoring the effect of the Presidential Executive Order, which would make you prove where you once lived in the U.S. in order to register to vote, as well as R. 2499, the bill introduced in House to convert this Executive Order into law. The Executive Order overlaps somewhat with the SAVE Act. The bill has only 3 co-sponsors as of this writing, and appears to be gaining no traction.
A New Attempt to Disenfranchise
There is a new attempt to disenfranchise overseas Americans, the Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility Act, H.R. 4851 (“PROVE Act”). If enacted, it would require non-military Americans living overseas to prove a “verifiable mailing address” of a “current residence” in the United States. Under this bill, overseas Americans would have to maintain residences where they live as well as in the United States in order to vote; impossible for most of us to meet.
The Act permits exceptions for those with a spouse, parent, or legal guardian currently residing in the U.S. Imagine: A voter could lose their right to vote upon the death of a parent, then gain it back if an estranged spouse moved to the U.S. Also, who would live in a country different from one’s legal representative? Finally, the Act declares that those who no longer have a U.S. address would be deemed residents of Washington DC. for purposes of voting.
This requirement is unworkable, has no basis in law or election security, and the exceptions are absurd. AARO and its usual partner in voting issues, the U.S. Vote Foundation, along with the organization Americans Citizens Abroad, have written a Statement declaring their strong opposition to the PROVE Act. If this Act gains traction, we will take further action.
