American citizens living, working, serving, or studying abroad carry their right to vote wherever they may be in the world. U.S. Vote Foundation celebrates and reinforces this right to vote through our Overseas Vote initiative, which has consistently stood at the forefront of safeguarding the voting rights of overseas and military citizens.
In the face of recent efforts to encumber and restrict our right to vote as overseas and military voters covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the Foundation and its partners have responded with swift and determined statements that encapsulate our collective resolve to defend our voting rights and processes.
Joint Statement Regarding the PROVE Act
On August 13, 2025, U.S. Vote Foundation, Overseas Vote, Association of Americans Resident Overseas, American Citizens Abroad, and FAWCO issued a signed statement opposing the PROVE Act. This coalition of nonpartisan overseas citizen groups joined together to voice our unequivocal opposition to H.R. 4851—the “Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility Act” (PROVE Act).
The PROVE Act addresses a problem that does not exist. And the stakes are high.
Despite the fact that Americans abroad are, by definition, living outside of the U.S., a new requirement to maintain a “current address” in the U.S. would be imposed on non-military U.S. citizens living overseas.
The new requirement would create a massive barrier for overseas citizens, military spouses and families. The resulting burden on students, retirees, aid workers, missionaries, diplomats, and many long-term expatriates who during their time abroad do not maintain a current U.S. residence, would be hard to overcome.
“In a sense, the PROVE Act changes the right to vote as a citizen abroad from a right based on citizenship, to a right based on geography and home ownership.”
The exceptions of claiming a U.S. address via a spouse, parent, or legal guardian—are insufficient. Ultimately, the legislation would disenfranchise U.S. citizen voters for reasons based on location, income, and familial changes or misfortune, such as the death of a parent.
Overseas Leaders Condemn Bill That Would Gut UOCAVA Protections
The media advisory asserts:
- UOCAVA, the law that outlines and protects overseas and military voting rights has effectively been in place for nearly four decades and already provides a secure, well-designed and functional process for covered voters.
- The standard voter registration and ballot request form requests the voter’s U.S. identification and last U.S. residence.
- There is absolutely no credible evidence of abuse or wrongdoing by overseas or military voters pertaining to the UOCAVA process.
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President & CEO of U.S. Vote Foundation and Overseas Vote, states plainly: this bill would “take one of the best-functioning, most secure election programs in the country—and sabotage it.”
The statement implores Congress to reject the PROVE Act outright, underscoring that changes to UOCAVA must be evidence-based and aim at increasing participation, not suppress it.
Our Mission and Vision: Every Citizen is a Voter
Combat Voter Confusion with Accessible Tools and Trusted Information
U.S. Vote Foundation and Overseas Vote share the combined mission and vision: Every Citizen is a Voter. Our work to provide accessible, nonpartisan tools, resources, and support to overseas and military voters through our websites are testimony to our commitment and underpin our statements to Congress.
U.S. Vote Foundation together with our Overseas Vote initiative and allied organizations will continue to take a proactive and principled stand in response to emerging threats against our right to vote:
- We reject the PROVE Act, which would severely the ability of overseas citizens, military spouses and families to vote through its imposition of arbitrary residency requirements.
- We will defend voting by mail, a demonstrably proven, secure, and essential mechanism for accessible voting from insinuated claims to the contrary.
- We will continue to equip voters with easy-to-use voter tools, curated election information and guidance, help desk support and innovations such as our Voter Journey Map.
Voting should be accessible to all U.S. citizens, regardless of where they reside or serve. By protecting and streamlining overseas and military voting, our Foundation is working to fortify democracy itself.