By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY and NICHOLAS RICCARDI
ATLANTA (AP) — The latest method of voting to fall into the political crosshairs is the way overseas voters — including members of the military stationed abroad — cast their ballots.
The process is governed by federal law and implemented by states. In recent weeks, Republicans have been challenging how states handle these voters, something former President Donald Trump didn’t do in 2020 when he and his allies challenged his loss in court.
But things have changed, with just a month before Election Day and a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s part of a broader legal strategy by Republicans to position themselves for post-election challenges should Trump lose.
Ballots already have been sent to overseas and military voters under a federally mandated deadline. Trump and his Republican allies contend these ballots could be part of an elaborate scheme to steal the election from him, a claim for which there is no evidence. Their challenge comes as the voters who receive the ballots are increasingly from groups that are presumed to be Democratic.
Here’s a look at the issues involved and what’s driving the claims.
Who are these voters?
Congress passed a law in 1986 that was signed by then-President Ronald Reagan requiring states to allow certain groups of citizens to register and vote absentee in federal elections. Known as the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA, it applies to military members, their family and U.S. citizens living outside the country.
In 2020, states sent more than 1.2 million ballots to military and overseas voters. Of those, more than 900,000 were returned and nearly 890,000 were counted, according to data collected by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Before 2016, military members and eligible family members represented most of these voters, according to the commission. But that has shifted slightly. In 2020, overseas citizens accounted for 57.4% of the registered voters. Overall, 40% of all military and overseas ballots were cast in three states: California, Florida and Washington.
That shift explains why Trump and other Republicans may be turning on the program. While military voters are presumed to vote for the GOP, other overseas voters are widely assumed to lean Democratic. This year, for the first time, the Democratic Party is spending money to try to turn them out.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program, which supports military and overseas voters, estimates that 2.8 million U.S. citizens of voting age were living overseas in 2022.
Election officials who receive their applications “do everything they can to verify that these are eligible voters and not just persons without any kind of identification,” said Election Assistance Commission member Christy A. McCormick.
How do overseas voters register and cast ballots?
Federal law allows qualified military or overseas voters to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the same time, using what is known as the federal postcard application, which can be submitted electronically in many states. This is aimed at addressing the challenges military and overseas voters can face, such as slow or even unavailable …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
