To reside or not reside: Overseas citizens sudden desire to participate in US elections while living abroad
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act set up the requirements and guidelines to participate in federal and state elections for both military members serving away from home and American citizens living overseas. Some of the guidelines include items such as the ballots being sent out 45 days early and allowance for electronic transfer of ballots. However, is this program secure? Is it possible that people could abuse the system and allow for non-citizens to vote in state elections?
We have examined the data from the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) Comprehensive Report to see if anything unusual stood out between the 2018 and 2020 general elections. We focused on the number of Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) forms that had been received in each election years. On average, there was an increase of 100% – 300% of applications received; going from a midterm election to a general election, this increase was expected. In some states, such as Arizona, there is an expiration date on how long the data on a form can be used (2 years), so citizens are required to send in a new application even if their status has not changed. This also helps account for the increased levels of applications.
Election | Total FPCA | Miliary FPCA | Overseas FPCA |
Arizona 2018 | 6,381 | 1,879 | 4,446 |
Arizona 2020 | 21,889 | 6,375 | 10,242 |
Percentage change | 243% | 239% | 130% |
We did discover some outliers; Washington state showed an increase in applications by over 1200%. Upon further investigation, it was learned that Washington state allows for overseas and military voters to use the standard registration form in years prior, so the FPCA form was not the only method a voter could have used to request a ballot. When searching online, the FPCA form is universally accepted within the states so more voters could have been guided to that form as a source to request a ballot.
Election | Total FPCA | Miliary FPCA | Overseas FPCA |
Washington 2018 | 2,006 | 592 | 1,414 |
Washington 2020 | 27,524 | 5,206 | 22,318 |
Percentage change | 1272% | 779% | 1478% |
Wisconsin showed an increase of 886%. Research shows that Wisconsin contains one military base, Fort McCoy, and two national guard locations. The majority of requests were made by overseas citizens, and Wisconsin allows citizens who have never resided in the United States to register to vote under WI 6.24(2). Finally military or permanent overseas voters are not required to provide a photo ID or any proof of residence when applying via the FPCA form. When contacted about their process it was explained that if the public had knowledge of a falsified voter registration, they could present the information to the clerk and the clerk’s office will research it. Wisconsin expressed that ultimately it is the responsibility of the voter to honestly certify to their voter type and the voter is the person held responsible if falsify any information.
Election | Total FPCA | Miliary FPCA | Overseas FPCA |
Wisconsin 2018 | 394 | 92 | 302 |
Wisconsin 2020 | 3,886 | 759 | 3,127 |
Percentage change | 886% | 725% | 935% |
Some states did not report any data for FPCA forms received, these states include:
Connecticut
Maine
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Vermont
Overall, only a handful of states are transparent on their systems when it comes to how overseas and military voters are verified. This is an area that could be improved upon for increased election security. Existing systems could be utilized to confirm the identity of military members such as Common Access Card (CAC) verification. The CAC, is a “smart” card that is the standard identification for uniformed personnel. It is also the principal card used to enable physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and it provides access to DoD computer network and systems. All military members are issued one and it remains active while they are serving. The CAC can be used to confirm military status and can be used to create a digital signature unique to the individual. Additionally online portals can be used for a secure and controlled method to transfer and receive ballots. The goal is to make it easier for legitimate voters to have their ballots transmitted in a secure, simple, and expedient method. The total number of FPCA forms reported by state and the percentage of change between the 2018 and 2020 elections are listed below:
State | 2018 Total |
Alabama | 779 |
Alaska | 1,140 |
Arizona | 6,381 |
Arkansas | 229 |
California | 48,145 |
Colorado | 6,889 |
Connecticut | N/A |
Delaware | 1,182 |
District of Columbia | 57 |
Florida | 25,082 |
Georgia | 739 |
Hawaii | 894 |
Idaho | 781 |
Illinois | 8,672 |
Indiana | 3,512 |
Iowa | 2,410 |
Kansas | 2,146 |
Kentucky | 3,106 |
Louisiana | 293 |
Maine | N/A |
Maryland | 9,441 |
Massachusetts | 10,003 |
Michigan | 5,962 |
Minnesota | 8,328 |
Mississippi | 1,208 |
Missouri | 937 |
Montana | 2,832 |
Nebraska | 899 |
Nevada | 2,699 |
New Hampshire | 2,552 |
New Jersey | 3,913 |
New Mexico | 775 |
New York | 63,555 |
North Carolina | 6,432 |
North Dakota | 90 |
Ohio | 9,251 |
Oklahoma | 1,247 |
Oregon | 8,096 |
Pennsylvania | 6,044 |
Rhode Island | 812 |
South Carolina | N/A |
South Dakota | 291 |
Tennessee | 5,385 |
Texas | 29,070 |
Utah | 2,092 |
Vermont | N/A |
Virginia | 14,917 |
Washington | 2,006 |
West Virginia | 570 |
Wisconsin | 394 |
Wyoming | 177 |
Total | 312,437 |
State | 2020 Total |
Alabama | 3,578 |
Alaska | 3,001 |
Arizona | 21,889 |
Arkansas | 956 |
California | 117,618 |
Colorado | 11,584 |
Connecticut | N/A |
Delaware | 2,918 |
District of Columbia | 2,353 |
Florida | 39,113 |
Georgia | 3,945 |
Hawaii | 4,534 |
Idaho | 3,285 |
Illinois | 25,678 |
Indiana | 7,991 |
Iowa | 6,772 |
Kansas | 5,611 |
Kentucky | 7,667 |
Louisiana | 1,552 |
Maine | N/A |
Maryland | 27,492 |
Massachusetts | 25,487 |
Michigan | 20,945 |
Minnesota | 19,154 |
Mississippi | 3,717 |
Missouri | 1,803 |
Montana | 3,976 |
Nebraska | 2,853 |
Nevada | 8,738 |
New Hampshire | 7,165 |
New Jersey | 25,152 |
New Mexico | 2,159 |
New York | 67,931 |
North Carolina | 25,573 |
North Dakota | 339 |
Ohio | 25,719 |
Oklahoma | 8,311 |
Oregon | 2,683 |
Pennsylvania | 32,027 |
Rhode Island | N/A |
South Carolina | N/A |
South Dakota | 74 |
Tennessee | 16,713 |
Texas | 87,645 |
Utah | 4,299 |
Vermont | N/A |
Virginia | 40,408 |
Washington | 27,524 |
West Virginia | 1,632 |
Wisconsin | 3,886 |
Wyoming | 1,143 |
Total | 764,691 |
State | % Change from 2018-2020 |
Alabama | 359% |
Alaska | 163% |
Arizona | 243% |
Arkansas | 317% |
California | 144% |
Colorado | 68% |
Connecticut | N/A |
Delaware | 147% |
District of Columbia | 4028% |
Florida | 56% |
Georgia | 434% |
Hawaii | 407% |
Idaho | 321% |
Illinois | 196% |
Indiana | 128% |
Iowa | 181% |
Kansas | 161% |
Kentucky | 147% |
Louisiana | 430% |
Maine | N/A |
Maryland | 191% |
Massachusetts | 155% |
Michigan | 251% |
Minnesota | 130% |
Mississippi | 208% |
Missouri | 92% |
Montana | 40% |
Nebraska | 217% |
Nevada | 224% |
New Hampshire | 181% |
New Jersey | 543% |
New Mexico | 179% |
New York | 7% |
North Carolina | 298% |
North Dakota | 277% |
Ohio | 178% |
Oklahoma | 566% |
Oregon | -67% |
Pennsylvania | 430% |
Rhode Island | N/A |
South Carolina | N/A |
South Dakota | -75% |
Tennessee | 210% |
Texas | 201% |
Utah | 105% |
Vermont | N/A |
Virginia | 171% |
Washington | 1272% |
West Virginia | 186% |
Wisconsin | 886% |
Wyoming | 546% |