17OCT

Pentagon cuts a box from overseas forms

2 min read

17:30UTC

The Pentagon's voting office removed the box for citizens who have never lived in the United States from two federal overseas voting forms in late August, NPR reported.

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Key takeaway

The Pentagon removed the never-lived-in-US option from federal overseas voting forms before ballots went out.

The Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program changed the two federal forms overseas voters use in late August, through emergency approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act, National Public Radio (NPR) reported on 30 September⁠¹. The Federal Post Card Application and the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot no longer carry the checkbox, present since 2013, for a citizen who has "never lived in the United States". The voters affected are US citizens born abroad who have never had a US address. Non-military applicants are left to swear that they intend to return or are uncertain about returning.

Deputy Under Secretary Sean O'Keefe wrote that the old forms "may confuse voters about the information they are required to provide under Federal law". The Pentagon says states can still process any form that carries the required information, including older versions.

NPR reports that Republican lawsuits against voting by citizens who never lived in the US have won in North Carolina, failed twice in Michigan and are pending in Arizona and at least five other states. It reports that the form change achieves part of what those suits seek without a court ruling. The change landed weeks before the 19 September federal deadline for sending overseas ballots, which Georgia met with four days to spare.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Millions of US citizens live abroad, including troops, their families and civilians. A 1986 federal law lets them vote by post in US federal elections, using standard federal forms. Some of them were born abroad to American parents and have never lived in the United States. Most states let them vote using a parent's last US address. Until August the federal forms had a box for exactly that case. The Pentagon office that writes the forms removed the box. It says states can still accept any form with the required details, including older versions.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 covers citizens abroad, but it leaves to each state whether a child of US citizens born and raised abroad may vote there. Most states allow it, using a parent's last US address.

Most overseas citizens register and request ballots on the two federal forms. The Federal Voting Assistance Program, a Pentagon office, writes those forms. A wording change there reaches every state at once, which is why it carries more weight than one lawsuit in one state.

What could happen next?

Risk
Overseas citizens who have never lived in the United States may find no option that fits them on the current federal forms.
Precedent
A federal agency changed eligibility wording on a national voting form through emergency approval, with public comment after the fact.

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: In January 2016 the executive director of the US Election Assistance Commission, Brian Newby, added proof-of-citizenship instructions to the national voter registration form for three states without a commission vote. A federal appeals court in Washington blocked the change in September 2016.

Counter-parallel: In the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race, Republican Jefferson Griffin challenged ballots from overseas voters who had never lived in the state. A federal judge ordered the result certified, and Griffin conceded in May 2025 without those votes being thrown out.

Consensus view: Deputy Under Secretary Sean O'Keefe justified the change by saying the old forms 'may confuse voters about the information they are required to provide under Federal law', citing a new Pentagon reading of the overseas voting law. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reported that the change used emergency approval, with public comment opening only afterwards.

Counter-view: Republican lawsuits against never-resided voters have won in North Carolina but lost twice in Michigan, according to NPR, and are pending in Arizona and at least five other states. On that record, an agency form change does part of what litigation has achieved only patchily, and does it without a court ruling.

Key tension: Whether removing a box changes anyone's right to vote. The Pentagon says older forms still work, so the practical effect depends on whether state officials treat a never-resided applicant as eligible without the box to tick.

First Reported In

Update #19 · Bulk voter citizenship checks are back

OPB / NPR· 1 Oct 2026

Read original →

Causes and effects

This Event

Pentagon cuts a box from overseas forms

US citizens born abroad who have never had a US address lose their own option on the federal forms while Republican suits against their voting are pending in several states.

Led to

DNC sues Pentagon over overseas forms

The DNC sued over the Pentagon's removal of the never-lived-in-US box.

Occurred 1 Oct 2026

Read story →

Different Perspectives

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Senate Majority PAC, spokesperson Lauren French

French said on 8 October that the Democratic super PAC was watching Kansas closely, but its booked airtime covers nine states and Kansas is not one. Whether SMP spends there decides if Adam Hamilton's 13-to-1 fundraising edge meets outside Republican money alone.

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State

Raffensperger's office reported 188,667 in-person votes on the first day of early voting, a midterm record. He expects turnout to challenge 2022's near 4m.

Sam Hayes, North Carolina State Board of Elections

Hayes's board reported 1,392 SAVE flags, about 0.02% of the roll, and says no voter will be removed automatically. The board is asking flagged voters to cancel or prove citizenship by letter, while eligible voters keep the right to vote on 3 November.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Thune, the Senate's Republican leader, said the government-paid ads should not be funded by taxpayers. His objection puts the party's own Senate leadership against the administration on the DHS spending.

The White House and Donald Trump

The White House calls the five DHS ads public-service announcements with no call to action; Trump called them "rather standard", then said his political fundraising would pay. A White House official said there are no immediate plans to repay.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.