Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee filed lawsuits in battleground states Michigan and North Carolina. The suits targeted overseas voters, challenging the validity of their ballots if they had never lived in the two states. However, on Monday, judges in both states made their final decisions, rejecting the lawsuits.
US Overseas Voting Laws
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) came into effect in 1986, nearly 4 decades ago. It enables military members, their families, and other U.S. citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections via absentee ballots. In the 2020 general election, over 938,000 UOCAVA voters had their ballots counted.
Since its establishment states’ rules for overseas voting have been generally accepted without much debate. This is mainly due to the connection to military service members. With more civilian citizens abroad than military citizens, overseas voters are a potentially crucial segment of voters.
According to the RNC, however, some voters do not meet state residency requirements. For example, state rules in North Carolina permit absentee voting for US citizens born abroad if their parent or legal guardian used to reside there.
