Pentagon Changes to Overseas Voting Forms Raise Concerns for U.S. Citizens Abroad

Pentagon Submits Emergency Form Revisions Before September Deadline

Weeks before a Sept. 19 deadline for states to send midterm ballots to overseas voters, the Pentagon submitted emergency requests to bypass the usual months-long process for updating federal forms. The changes removed a checkbox that allowed overseas U.S. citizens to identify as having never lived in the United States. Following the removal, only two response options remain for non-military overseas citizens, both requiring a sworn declaration that the individual either intends to return to the U.S. or is uncertain about returning.

Sean O’Keefe, the Pentagon’s deputy under secretary for personnel and readiness, addressed the modifications in a letter regarding the August emergency requests. “It has recently come to our attention that the current format of these forms may confuse voters about the information they are required to provide under Federal law and their eligibility to use these forms to register and vote,” O’Keefe wrote. Days after a White House agency approved the requests, the Federal Voting Assistance Program announced on social media that the forms had been updated.

Legal Disputes Over Never-Resided Voters in Multiple States

Many U.S. citizens born abroad have never lived in the United States, but Washington, D.C., and numerous states allow these never-resided citizens to cast ballots if they have a relative who last lived in that jurisdiction, such as a parent or a legal guardian who served in the military. Since 2024, Republican officials have filed lawsuits challenging these rules, arguing that state laws permitting never-resided citizens to vote violate state constitutions and disproportionately favor non-Republican voters.

While GOP legal challenges succeeded in North Carolina, similar lawsuits were rebuffed twice in Michigan and continue in Arizona and at least five other states. The checkbox for never-resided voters had been on federal absentee forms since 2013. Bob Carey, a retired U.S. Navy captain who led the voting assistance program until departing in 2012, stated that state election officials and overseas voting advocates originally pushed for the category.

State Election Officials Continue Processing Previous Versions

Despite the federal form updates, eligible never-resided voters can still register and request ballots through alternative methods provided by their home states or territories. The Pentagon’s voting program confirmed that state election officials can continue processing previous versions of the forms. “States administer elections and can process any form or application that provides the information required to verify a voter’s eligibility to vote in their jurisdiction,” the Pentagon stated.

Guidance for state election officials was posted on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website roughly a month after the forms were changed, following a public comment period initiated by the Pentagon more than a week after the updates. Overseas and military voting advocates, following initial reporting by the outlet Democracy Docket, have expressed concern that the adjustments create new obstacles for U.S. citizens attempting to participate in federal elections from abroad.