Republicans Push Voting Restrictions On U.S. Citizens Living Abroad

Summary

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NPR Politics Podcast: Republicans Push Voting Restrictions On U.S. Citizens Living Abroad

Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Ashley Lopez, Hansi Le Wang, Miles Parks

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Overview

This episode delves into a wave of Republican-led efforts to impose new voting restrictions on U.S. citizens living abroad—the military and, increasingly, civilian Americans. The NPR voting team breaks down the legal challenges in swing states, legislative proposals, partisan dynamics, and the very real impact these potential changes may have on access to the ballot for millions of Americans who live outside the country.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Current Push for Restrictions

(01:15 – 04:26)

• Backdrop:
  Efforts began intensifying during the last presidential election, with last-minute lawsuits casting doubt on certain overseas ballots in swing states like Michigan, North Carolina, and now Arizona.
• Legal Developments:
  • Many lawsuits were tossed, but fresh legal challenges have emerged.
  • North Carolina’s state courts ruled that some overseas voters can no longer cast ballots in state/local elections, with new legislation threatening their federal voting rights too.
• Notable Quote:

  "There have been proposals for new state laws... Now there's a bill in North Carolina that could take away those overseas voters' ability to cast ballots in federal elections."
  – Hansi Le Wang (01:35)

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2. Who Are Overseas Voters?

(04:26 – 04:53)

• Misconceptions: Historically seen as primarily military, but since 2016, civilian overseas voters outnumber military.
• Legal Context:
  • The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to let these voters cast absentee ballots in federal races.
  • Complications arise for U.S. citizens born abroad who never lived in the U.S.; 37 states and D.C. let them use a parent’s last address as their registration base.
• Focus of Restrictions:
  Republicans are mainly challenging the rights of these nonresident, U.S.-born civilians.

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3. A Shift in Republican Approach

(04:53 – 06:08)

• Historical Bipartisanship:
  UOCAVA was signed by President Reagan with solid Republican support, largely because military voters were the majority—and were presumed to support Republicans.
• Recent Shift:
  With civilian, possibly more Democratic-leaning, turnout increasing, some Republicans are rethinking their support.
• Notable Quote:

  "Generally speaking, the Democratic Party has had a more effective turnout machine for citizens living abroad... it seems like Republicans in many states are looking at that and kind of playing politics."
  – Miles Parks (05:46)

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4. Partisan Motivations and Election Integrity Arguments

(06:08 – 08:05)

• Democratic Push:
  Democrats have invested in overseas voter turnout, prompting some Republican leaders, including former President Trump, to allege without evidence that Democrats aim to "dilute the true vote of our beautiful military and their families" (06:40).
• Election Integrity Concerns:
  Overseas voters often use fax, email, or online ballots; their ballots typically have more lenient deadlines, making them prime targets for skepticism among election-integrity activists.

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5. Real-World Impact on Voters

(08:05 – 09:24)

• Voter Voices:
  Hansi relays the story of Kate Sable, a long-term overseas voter from North Carolina:

  • Her adult sons, U.S. citizens born abroad, are now excluded from state/local elections due to recent changes and may soon lose federal voting rights.
  • Kate expresses the anxiety and loss felt by potentially losing their democratic participation.

• Notable Quote:

  "Contemplating the thought of not being able to, or my children not being able to, just makes me realize how precious the right to vote is and just how important it is as a citizen of a democratic country."
  – Kate Sable (08:52)

• Turnout Stats:
  Only 3.4% of overseas voters participated in 2022 elections, compared to 62.5% of domestic voters.

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6. Specific Proposals: Documentation & Deadlines

(11:25 – 14:05)

• ID & Documentation Demands:
  An executive order by Trump and House-backed legislation would compel proof of U.S. citizenship documentation for voter registration.

  • These measures introduce significant hurdles, particularly for mobile military families or those living abroad without easy access to U.S. records.

• Ballot Deadlines:
  Push to discount ballots postmarked by Election Day but received afterwards hits overseas voters hardest due to postal delays.

• Notable Exchange:

  Ashley Lopez: "Like the hurdles are higher for people who are less likely to vote."
  Miles Parks: "Yes."
  (12:39 – 12:42)

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7. Broader Implications for U.S. Voters

(14:05 – 15:46)

• Potential to Affect Domestic Voters:
  Frequent state-level rule changes can cause confusion for all voters, as seen during the pandemic. Public education is crucial.

  • The timing and transparency of implementing these rules will dictate their impact.

• Trends Noted:
  States with longer grace periods see more ballots arriving post-Election Day—changing this would affect many.

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8. Other Election Law Storylines to Watch

(15:46 – 16:44)

• DOJ Lawsuits:
  The Department of Justice has sued eight states for access to their voter lists (primarily Democratic states), raising questions about federal oversight and data transparency.
• Overseas Voter Lawsuits:
  Multiple court rulings on President Trump's executive order and new state proposals are pending, with significant potential ramifications for overseas voters' rights.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the binary of citizenship:

  "People kind of think of citizenship as a very binary thing... but also there's just a lot more complicated cases, I think, than people realize."
  – Miles Parks (04:26)

• Reflecting on possible disenfranchisement:

  "Contemplating the thought of not being able to, or my children not being able to, just makes me realize how precious the right to vote is..."
  – Kate Sable via Hansi Le Wang (08:52)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:15: Overview of ongoing and proposed restrictions
• 02:35: Explanation of who qualifies as an overseas voter
• 04:53: Changing Republican stance on overseas voting rights
• 06:40: Trump's social media comments and election integrity narrative
• 08:52: Personal story from affected overseas voter, Kate Sable
• 11:25: Detailing proof-of-citizenship and deadline proposals
• 15:46: DOJ lawsuits against states over voter lists

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Takeaway

The episode underscores that voting rights for U.S. citizens abroad are at an inflection point, shaped by shifting political calculations, increasingly complicated legal debates, and real consequences for democracy. The team emphasizes that any new restrictions will most severely impact already-marginalized, low-turnout groups—including civilians and military voters living overseas—while also previewing how these themes could ripple into the 2026 midterms and beyond.

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Transcript

[Miles Parks]

We all wonder about life's big questions. Why are we here? What are we to do? And how to make sense of it all. On Ye Gods with Scott Carter, I talk with politicos, priests, actors and atheists on how they wrestle with life's mysteries. Their stories will spark reflection, challenge assumptions.

[Ashley Lopez]

And maybe even bring you some clarity.

[Miles Parks]

On your own journey. Listen to Ye Gods, part of the NPR network wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is John at the starting line of the Chicago Marathon with 53,000 other runners who are way too excited.

[Ashley Lopez]

This podcast was recorded at 1:08pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

[Miles Parks]

Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but with a little luck, I'll have crossed the finish line of my 25th marathon. Okay, here's the show.

[Ashley Lopez]

25 marathons.

[Miles Parks]

That's amazing. I feel like we should have gotten the time stamp from like mile 21 or something. It would have sounded like. And it's. You're listening to. Yeah.

[Ashley Lopez]

Also I got questions about your knees. How are they doing?

[Miles Parks]

Now?

[Ashley Lopez]

That sounds rough. Hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover voting.

[Hansi Le Wang]

I'm Hansi Le Wang. I also cover voting.

[Miles Parks]

And I'm Miles Parks. I am the third member of the NPR voting team.

[Ashley Lopez]

It's an Assemble Team podcast, which is great because today on the podcast we're gonna be talking about how Republicans are continuing to push new voting restrictions for US Citizens living abroad. Hanz, you've been covering these efforts. Can you give us a quick overview of what you found?

[Hansi Le Wang]

What we're seeing is the latest phase of a push that began during last year's presidential election. Last year, we saw multiple last minute lawsuits in swing states like Michigan and North Carolina. And they challenged the legitimacy of certain overseas voters. Balance. This included the balance of both military and civilian voters. And those lawsuits ended up getting tossed. But new legal challenges have cropped up, including one in Arizona by the Republican National Committee. And there have been proposals for new state laws, including in North Carolina this year. State courts ruled there that certain overseas voters can no longer cast ballots in state and local elections there. And now there's a bill in North Carolina that could take away those overseas voters ability to cast ballots in federal elections in North Carolina. So a lot going on.

[Ashley Lopez]

Okay, Hansi, I do want to back up a second. I want to be clear about who we're talking about here when we're talking about overseas voters. Like, my perception is that this is usually military. Right?

[Hansi Le Wang]

Right. That has been the case Historically. But in recent years, you know, Starting with the 2016 election, we've seen actually civilian overseas voters outnumbering military voters. And to be clear, we're talking about all US Citizens. Some moved abroad, some were born abroad to US Citizens, some are registered with the address that they last had in the United States. And this is under a federal law called the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act, U OCAVA for short. And it requires states to allow military and civilian overseas voters to cast absentee ballots in federal elections. And things do get complicated if you're a US Citizen born abroad and have never lived in the US So you personally don't have a previous US Address to register with. And that is the case for some U.S. citizens whose parents served abroad in this U.S. military. So 37 states, Washington, D.C. allow those overseas non resident voters to register using the previous US Address of a relative, usually a parent or a legal guardian. But this is the group of voters that this Republican push to restrict overseas voting has been mainly focusing on. In Arizona, the Republican National Committee is arguing allowing those overseas non resident voters to register in the state violates Arizona's constitution. And I should also mention there's a bill in Congress backed by a group of House Republicans that calls for requiring all overseas voters to have a, quote, current residence in the state that they're registered in or that their spouse, parent or guardian has a, quote, current residence. Otherwise they could register to vote for Federal elections in D.C. which is represented in Congress by a non voting delegate. So a lot of proposals here that could upend an already complicated voting system for US Citizens living abroad.

[Miles Parks]

I do feel like there's something that's happened a lot this year though, which is that people who are born here and are citizens kind of think of citizenship as a very binary thing, that you're either a US Citizen or you're not a. There's like a lot of different degrees of gray area going from non citizen to citizen. But also there's just a lot more complicated cases, I think, than people realize. And I think that presents a lot of questions when it comes to elections. When you think about people who have never lived here.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. And mostly Republicans, we should say, like this effort to create new restrictions. I mean, is this a shift in their position?

[Miles Parks]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, Uakava, the law that Hansi mentioned was signed by Ronald Reagan. And previously it was mostly military voters who were using it more than civilian voters. And so that made it pretty simple for Republicans who view themselves as the party that supports the military I remember just a few years ago I was interviewing the Republican Secretary of State of West Virginia, a guy named Mack Warner, and he was rolling out new Internet voting options for military voters because he was saying that it's basically just really messed that there is this low turnout rate for the people who are giving the most to the U.S. and yet we're also seeing in different parts of the country, Republicans work to kind of pull away voting rights from this population specifically, it seems like, because the politics around this continue to change and more civilians start using these methods as opposed to just the military voters. Generally speaking, the Democratic Party has had a more effective turnout machine for citizens living abroad. And so that population has voted more Democratic leaning in recent years. And so it seems like Republicans in many states are looking at that and kind of playing politics.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. And Hansi, is that what has prompted this change? Is it because Democrats have gotten better at courting these voters, or is it a more complicated story Here I talk.

[Hansi Le Wang]

To overseas voting advocates and they tell me they see this as a Republican reaction to a Democratic push last year to increase voter registration among US Citizens living abroad. And we did see President Trump, who was the then candidate in 2024, posting on social media. This is in September 2024, you know, last months of voting without evidence, claiming that Democrats, quote, want to dilute the true vote of our beautiful military and their families, unquote. And this partisan angle is also being brought up by this Republican National Committee's lawsuit in Arizona claiming that allowing overseas non resident voters to register in this state gives non Republicans a competitive advantage in elections.

[Miles Parks]

I will also note that, you know, when you think about this voting bloc, it is kind of at the nexus of a lot of the issues post 2020. When you think about the sort of far right election integrity advocates who have been trying to push back against vote by mail, who are very skeptical of everything when it comes to technology in voting. A lot of these voters, these are, this is the only voting bloc that in many states you're allowed to vote by fax, by email, by online portal. Thousands of these voters vote online literally right now in 20 in 2020. And the ones who don't are voting by mail. And so if you think about, and then you add to that, that many of these voters also have more lenient deadlines. So they're often the ballots that are the last ones to be returned and counted, which as we know in previous elections, those are the ballots that get the most skepticism because they're, when you talk about the late arriving ballots that change the results. A lot of times it is these ballots that are coming from far away across the world that are allowed to be counted. And so I think there's something about that that also primes the election integrity world to be a little bit more skeptical of this population.

[Hansi Le Wang]

Yeah.

[Ashley Lopez]

Also an effort by Republicans to limit when ballots can come in, like whether ballots count if they come in after election day. Well, Hansi, you spoke to some of the voters, though, that are affected by these policies. Can you give me a sense of how they feel about all this?

[Hansi Le Wang]

There's a lot of uncertainty among overseas voters, including this woman I spoke to, Kate Sable, US Citizen registered to vote in North Carolina from Canada, where she's been voting in U.S. election elections for more than two decades. And she now has two adult sons born abroad U.S. citizens. But because of North Carolina state court rulings, her sons can no longer vote in state and local elections. And she's worried that in North Carolina rules could change again and her sons won't be able to vote in federal elections going forward.

[Ashley Lopez]

Contemplating the thought of not being able to or my children not being able to just makes me realize how precious the right to vote is and just how important it is as a citizen of a democratic country.

[Hansi Le Wang]

You know, I should also mention that, you know, overseas voting has historically had a really low turnout compared to U.S. citizens here in the United States. It's 3.4% turnout for overseas voters in 2022 compared to 62.5% for domestic voters.

[Ashley Lopez]

All right, we have to take a quick break. More in a moment.

[Miles Parks]

Hey, it's Mike Danforth, executive producer of.

[Hansi Le Wang]

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Here's a great way to get the perks of being an NPR producer without doing any of the work. Join npr. With npr, you get extended interviews, inside looks at your favorite shows and more, all while supporting NPR and never having to pull an all nighter. Or if you work on one of the news shows, an all morninger, sign.

[Ashley Lopez]

Up at plus.npr.org rhinoplasty the humble nose job. It's one of the most common facial plastic surgeries performed today, but it's been around for over 2,000 years. If you're wondering why on earth would doctors thousands of years ago need to reconstruct noses, that's a great question. And on NPR shortwave podcast, we dive into that answer. Listen to the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, all you want to do is help. But where do you Start on the Life Kit podcast. We have tips for you. Your agenda should be I'm going to be with you and be totally present to whatever comes up. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts for different ways to offer support.

[Miles Parks]

Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of FRESH AIR.

[Ashley Lopez]

Hey, take a break from the 24 hour news cycle with us and listen to long form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians and musicians, the people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and whyy. And we're back. And we've been discussing proposals that would restrict voting by American citizens living abroad. They're among the eligible voters who could have a harder time accessing the ballot because of proposals Republicans have been making in the name of, quote, election integrity. But voters who live in the US could also be affected by some of these efforts. Hansi, can you give us a few examples of some of these proposals we're talking about that you've been watching?

[Hansi Le Wang]

Right. Well, I think we should keep in mind that, you know, eligible voters already have to sign sworn statements about their U.S. citizenship when they're registering to vote. But there's an executive order by President Trump signed back in March and a bill passed by the House of Representatives and they call for requiring applicants to show documents proving U.S. citizenship. There's also part of President Trump's executive order, which is currently under litigation, that tries to put pressure on states that count absentee ballots that are postmarked by Elect Election Day but received afterwards. And these can all really complicate voting by overseas voters.

[Miles Parks]

I think it's really interesting when you think about for years, as I've been reporting on elections, what election experts always say is that anytime you restrict access to the ballot, the people who are most impacted are low propensity voters. Generally. It's kind of like a truism. And normally when we say low propensity voters, we're talking about the voting blocs, like people with lower education, lower incomes. Those are people who have been traditionally found to vote at lower rates. But I think it's really interesting to start thinking about overseas and military voters in the same bucket when we talk about how low the turnout rate has been traditionally over the last few years for this group. If you make voting harder, it is only going to get worse.

[Hansi Le Wang]

Yeah.

[Ashley Lopez]

Like the hurdles are higher for people who are less likely to vote.

[Miles Parks]

Yes.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah. Well, can you spell it out for us though, Hansi? Like, how is it, I mean, besides like creating hurdles for folks who may not be as inclined to vote. Like, how do these new limits make it harder for people to vote?

[Hansi Le Wang]

These proposals for showing documentary proof of citizenship. I talked to some advocates of military voters and some of these folks who are on the move for the job, relocated and families on the move. It's often hard to get resettled in a new place. And finding those documents can be extra hard for those families. And so that's a potential challenge to folks who do want to vote, do want to participate. But if these requirements are put into place, may have that much harder of a time to get signed up or to get their ballot counted. There's also a risk that comes with this push by the Trump administration to put pressure on those states that count absentee ballots, again, postmarked by election Day, but received afterwards, trying to get those ballots not counted. And that really risks the votes of some certain overseas voters who, you know, they are running into a lot of issues, complications with the postal system. They try really hard to get something in the mail and get there on time, but a lot of times it's out of their hands. And that could really risk their votes getting not counted.

[Ashley Lopez]

I mean, Myles, I do want to talk about whether there's, like, any practical implications for people who are stateside, like U.S. citizens who do live in the country. I'm thinking about the midterm elections next year specifically. But, I mean, do you have a sense of whether this could affect folks here?

[Miles Parks]

I think it's really so much can change between now and midterms. I think that's part of it is that a lot of the things we're talking about are state specific. And so it's hard to say even right now what the rules of play are going to be a year from now. But any restriction, I was thinking as Hansi was talking about the ballot deadlines changing and how we, when we saw that in Covid, and it feels like every week leading up to the 2020 election, there were rules changing about when your ballot needed to be returned, whether your county was going to have a Dropbox. All of that stuff requires so public education. And so I guess I've been hearing from election officials that what they're hoping as we get further and further away from COVID that the rules can be set early. So that way, if deadlines are going to be changing about when a voter needs to have a ballot to their election official, they know about it before a couple weeks before the election or something like that, or if a voter does need to verify their citizenship. They know about that before August, before the election or something like that. So that's going to be really something to watch if there are more restrictions put in place over the next year when they happen, because that's gonna determine how many voters are impacted.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah, yeah. I will say as someone who's looked into this, like states that have like a more forgiving, longer, I guess, grace periods for voters to return ballots have more of them that come in after Election Day. And it's been that way for a while for them. So it would be a big change. It would affect like a lot of voters. Are there any other voting storylines that you're watching as midterms get closer?

[Miles Parks]

I mean, the big one for me is the Department of Justice has sued eight states now asking to get access to their voter lists. And it's very unclear to the election officials in those states, mostly they've been Democratic states, a couple Republican states as well, who basically said, no, the Justice Department does not have a right to our voting lists. And those cases, the government is shut down right now. So the Department of Justice asked for a stay in those cases. But that's the biggest thing I'm watching is just kind of the legal arguments for whether the federal government does have access to that data and whether more comes out about why DOJ wants that data at all.

[Ashley Lopez]

Yeah.

[Hansi Le Wang]

And specifically for overseas voters, I think a lot of folks are watching to see what happens to these lawsuits over President Trump's executive order on voting. Many parts of that order are currently on hold. And we're watching to see more court rulings and likely appeals after that and watching to see if any of these state level proposals make it through and could really change voting for overseas voters.

[Ashley Lopez]

All right, well, let's leave it there for today. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover voting.

[Hansi Le Wang]

I'm Anzi Le Wang. I also cover voting.

[Miles Parks]

And I'm Miles Parks. I also cover voting. This was fun, guys.

[Ashley Lopez]

Very fun. And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast. On NPR's Wild Card podcast, Jeff Hiller says fans of his character in somebody.

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