Sharing the Facts About Military and Overseas Voting

For nearly 40 years, federal law has protected the ability of members of the military, their families, and other U.S. citizens living overseas to register and cast absentee ballots in federal elections. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA, helps ensure that Americans can make their voices heard even when they are thousands of miles from home.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on these protections every election. More than 905,000 military and overseas voters cast ballots in the 2024 election, according to States United research. Like other Americans who vote by mail, they cast their ballots through systems with layers of safeguards to verify voter eligibility and protect the vote.

But the recent developments raise concerns about whether all eligible overseas citizens will be able to exercise this fundamental right. In August, the Trump administration changed two federal forms used by military and overseas voters to register, request ballots, and vote. The changes could affect some U.S. citizens who have never lived in the country but are eligible to vote under the laws of 37 states and the District of Columbia. Those states rely on the federal forms to carry out their own voting laws. The changes, which were made on an emergency basis, have been challenged in a lawsuit and are also subject to a comment period ending on Nov. 9.

The changes come amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to insert the federal government into how states run elections—from executive orders and demands for sensitive voter data to investigations of state and local election systems. But UOCAVA also shows the strength of the systems run by states already in place.

Here are some key takeaways about military and overseas voters’ ballot access:

• Our troops and their families stationed overseas deserve to have their votes counted here at home.
  • Americans should not lose their ability to participate in our democracy because they are serving or living thousands of miles from home.
  • Our troops know better than most that our elections give Americans a voice that many people around the world do not have.
• Military voters and other Americans living overseas can vote by mail—and their ballots are protected by rigorous security safeguards.
  • State and local election officials verify voter eligibility and handle ballots according to state and federal law.
  • States use voter registration records, identifying information, ballot-verification procedures, tracking systems, and other checks to make sure eligible votes—and only eligible votes—are counted.
• Military and overseas voting is a longstanding part of our election system.
  • UOCAVA has protected voting access for military members, their families, and other Americans living abroad for nearly 40 years.
  • Military and overseas voters are encouraged to register and request their ballots early, and states have established procedures for administering those votes.
• The systems protecting military and overseas voters are built to keep eligible voters in the process.
  • States remain responsible for determining voter eligibility and administering these ballots under state and federal law.
  • Existing procedures give election officials tools to process valid applications and make sure eligible voters can participate.
• Mail voting is safe and secure.
  • Americans have voted by mail for generations, and every state has tested and reliable systems to protect mail ballots.
  • Nearly a third of Americans voted by mail in both 2022 and 2024, including hundreds of thousands of military and overseas voters.
• In America, voters choose our leaders—leaders don’t get to choose their voters.
  • Eligible Americans should be able to cast their ballots and have them counted, whether they live down the street from their polling place or are serving their country halfway around the world.