Overseas Voters

You can make a difference...

In response to my post, Oh That Will Never Happen, a reader commented, “For all reading who’ve moved to PT since a last election, you CAN vote from PT, but pls register as an overseas voter to get your ballot early and have Federal protection for your vote.” I also received an email from another reader Kristi Holmes Espineira, the Chair of Democrats Abroad Portugal. She encouraged me to write more about the mechanics of overseas voting…so I will do that today.

The image is taken from FVAP.gov, where you can find more information.

Mike Turns Me On

Okay, I used the title above just to keep you reading. I want to reassure Mike’s wife, Mary, that while I adore both of you Mike does not do anything for me romantically. Though he is a very smart guy and I have learned quite a bit from him. Frankly, when he published his post Absentee Voting for US Citizens Abroad I realized I needed to register as an overseas voter.

In Mike’s post, Mike offers a primer on the many acronyms related to this topic:

• The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP);

• Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act (UOCAVA); and

• The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)

He also provides you with step-by-step directions on completing the required steps on the FVAP.gov website.

Full Disclosure

Now to be perfectly honest, I read Mike’s post and did absolutely nothing. Well, that is not exactly true, I decided I would register to vote before leaving on vacation and reference his post in one of my August posts. I put a note on my calendar to revisit this post in late July. But when I got Kristi’s email and she referenced a site where it was even easier to register, I did jump on it. I like “easier”. The site is Votefromabroad.org and is a nonpartisan tool sponsored by Democrats Abroad Portugal:

Democrats Abroad Portugal is the official arm of the Democratic party in Portugal, and has over 1000 members. The global Democrats Abroad organization sponsors a nonpartisan tool, www.votefromabroad.org, that allows any citizen to request their ballot.

DA Portugal’s mission is to get out the vote among Americans living in Portugal. They reach out to their members, raise awareness using social media, and hold events to connect and educate Americans in Portugal. They also provide nonpartisan voter assistance when people have questions about registering or returning their ballots. They want to make sure that all Americans in Portugal know they CAN vote, and that they DO vote. — DemocratsAbroad.pt

When I accessed the site, I did have a question. So I sent an email to Kristi and she responded very quickly. It took less than 5 minutes to complete Denise and my requests and we received notification from Florida the next day that it had been received. We even received our ballot for the upcoming Florida primary.¹

My Question

Since you might have the same question, I want to provide the answer. First, a bit of background. When we filed our 2021 Federal Taxes we included a form that changes our mailing address to Portugal. Prior to this, we had an address in Florida and are registered Florida voters. I wondered if by changing my IRS address, I had negated my ability to vote in Florida elections. Here was the answer I received:

As an overseas voter, you need to send in the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to request a ballot (and register to vote if necessary). You choose your voter category on the form. If you are a civilian overseas voter, then typically the choice is "intend to return" or "my intent to return is uncertain".

After your state receives and accepts your FPCA, your state will send a ballot listing all the races you are eligible to vote in. All US overseas voters have the right to vote for Federal offices (that is, for President, US Senate, and US House of Representatives). However, each state decides if some or all of its overseas voters may vote in State and Local elections (such as Governor, state legislature, and local offices).

• If you indicate on your FPCA that you "intend to return": Every state will send a ballot that includes state and local elections.

• If you indicate on your FPCA that your "intent to return is uncertain: Nearly ⅔ of the states (32) will send a ballot that includes state and local races. The remaining 18 states will send "return uncertain" voters a ballot with only Federal offices. The 18 states are:
  
  Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (some counties), Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

*Note: Please be aware that if your voting state imposes a state income tax, selecting “I intend to return” rather than “my intent to return is uncertain” may contribute towards establishing yourself as a tax resident in your voting state. Because the legal requirements to establish "residence" or "domicile" for tax purposes are determined by state law and the specific facts of your life, before you chose “I intend to return,” you may consider seeking advice on these matters from a tax professional.

Since I didn’t want to lie, I did answer “intent to return is uncertain” (there wasn’t an option for “hell no”). It turns out Sumter County will permit me to vote in the local elections. The fact that I am a registered Democrat, in one of the reddest counties (proud home of The Villages) in the State, and they sent me a ballot so quickly does give me a reason for hope.

Help your family, your friends, and the global community.

Final Plea

I was raised to believe that America was the greatest nation on earth. It was a shining beacon … it offered unparalleled opportunity … it welcomed those less fortunate … and defended countries that were attacked by more powerful enemies. Of course, my childish notions have matured over the years. But I still believe that how America goes so goes the world. Whether it is combating global warming … Vladimir Putin … or the health of a global economy. I still believe that America has an important role to play. And it is now more clear than ever that we must elect principled representatives at every level of our government if we want this great democracy to survive.

America is great because America is good. If America ever stops being good, she will stop being great. — Alexis de Tocqueville

In researching this post, I learned that Overseas Voters actually tipped the scales in Georgia and Arizona in the 2020 Presidential race. This is reflected in the margin of victory in Georgia (11,000 overseas votes for Georgia received and counted) and was mentioned in the January 6th hearings as it relates to Arizona. Your vote counts. Your vote matters.

Need I say more?

Next Week: visiting Portugal…a few of our favourite towns.

1. Sumter County FL allows us to fax the completed ballot and Voter Certification document. So we printed these, completed and signed both and returned them via an e-fax application (cheaper than international mail). We received an email verification that they were received and a tracking email to assure they were counted. Perhaps Florida learned something after the “hanging chads” incident.