Donald Trump this week claimed without evidence that anyone living overseas can get a ballot mailed to them, even if they are not eligible to vote, falsely accusing Democrats of subverting a 1986 law to win in November.
The former Republican president鈥檚 allegation focuses on the , or UOCAVA, which protects the rights of U.S. citizens living abroad, including members of the military and their families, to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. UOCAVA was amended in 2009 by the , or MOVE, which added more protections.
Trump claimed that Democrats will 鈥渦se UOCAVA to get ballots, a program that emails ballots overseas without any citizenship check or verification of identity, whatsoever鈥 and that 鈥渁nyone can get a ballot emailed to them!鈥 Trump also suggested that this might indicate 鈥渇oreign interference鈥 in the 2024 election.
鈥淭he Democrats are talking about how they鈥檙e working so hard to get millions of votes from Americans living overseas,鈥 he posted Monday on his Truth Social platform. 鈥淎ctually, they are getting ready to CHEAT!鈥
This latest accusation builds on similar election-related falsehoods Trump and other Republicans have pushed repeatedly since the 2020 race 鈥 that , for example, or that .
Experts say the goal is to prime the conversation, sowing doubt about the U.S. election system in case Trump doesn鈥檛 win.
鈥淭hese types of false claims are typical of the broader disinformation campaign to sow doubt in the security of our elections and will most definitely continue,鈥 said Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director of the 春色直播 Association for Media Literacy Education. 鈥淎t this point, it鈥檚 a pretty obvious playbook, which is why people have to be very critical of the messages they receive about elections and that they go to their election officials for reliable information.鈥
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Local election officials verify the identity and eligibility of those abroad who register to vote absentee, contrary to Trump鈥檚 claim, just as they would for anyone living in the U.S.
Individuals by sending a , or FPCA, to the election office in their state of voting residence 鈥 often the address at which they last lived in the U.S. They must submit the FPCA each year to receive absentee ballots for all elections held during that time.
All voters, including those overseas, must confirm under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens when they sign their registration form. A makes it illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Violators can be fined or imprisoned for up to a year. They can also be deported.
When local election offices receive an FPCA, they verify the registrant鈥檚 identity, typically by using their driver鈥檚 license, state ID or social security number. Federal law requires states to regularly maintain their voter rolls and remove anyone who is ineligible.
鈥淓lections are administered by state and local election offices who process absentee voter registrations and ballot requests, send ballots to voters, and receive and process voted ballots,鈥 said Scott Wiedmann, the director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which administers UOCAVA. 鈥淭he election officials are the final arbiter as to whether a voter meets the eligibility requirements to vote in their jurisdiction.鈥
Eligible voters will receive a blank absentee ballot prior to each election and request how they prefer it to be sent, including by email. Overseas voters can always participate in federal elections. Some states may also allow them to vote in state and local races.
There were approximately 4.4 million U.S. citizens living abroad in 2022, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program鈥檚 . About 2.8 million of those people were of voting age. An estimated 94,927 votes were cast in the 2022 general election by this population. That number during the last presidential election in 2020, with 224,139 votes cast out of approximately 2.5 million citizens of voting age.
鈥淚n over 25 years of working in elections, in both Republican and Democratic administrations, and with election officials of both parties, I don鈥檛 recall any of them, or any elected leader from either party, ever denigrating this important program, until Trump鈥檚 false claims this week,鈥 said David Becker, the founder and executive director of The Center for Election Innovation and Research.
Becker added, referring to UOCAVA, that "every candidate and campaign knows of its existence, and then-President Trump鈥檚 administration oversaw its enforcement during his entire term."
Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, agreed that 鈥渆nsuring these voters can vote has never been controversial. I should say, never before.鈥
Though that there have been instances of over the years across the U.S., it鈥檚 , in part because of the risk involved.
States have mechanisms to prevent it, though there isn鈥檛 one standard protocol they all follow. Valencia Richardson, legal counsel for voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center, in July that there are many ways to confirm citizenship, such as checking department of motor vehicle records, asking the secretary of state鈥檚 office or getting in touch with the voter themselves.
A small number of local jurisdictions, among them San Francisco and the District of Columbia, have begun allowing immigrants who aren鈥檛 citizens to vote in some local contests, such as for school board and city council.
False claims like the one offered by Trump build on existing fears about voter fraud and illegal immigration while taking advantage of distrust in the media and the public鈥檚 lack of familiarity with election laws.
鈥淟aying the groundwork for a conspiracy theory means that you need to weave many claims together,鈥 Kathleen Carley, a misinformation expert and researcher at Carnegie Mellon University鈥檚 CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, wrote in an email. 鈥淚n that sense, this story about UOCAVA lays the groundwork for, and would help substantiate, a conspiracy theory around Democrats stealing the election.鈥
