There’s a category of voters Washingtonians don’t really know about: ‘Never Residents’. The Secretary of State allows them to vote even though they’ve never set foot here…
A ‘Never Resident’ is a US citizen born outside the US who has never resided in the US.
The US Constitution doesn’t grant voting rights to ‘Never Residents’.
The Washington state Constitution doesn’t grant voting rights to ‘Never Residents’.
In fact, it strictly requires you to have lived in the state:
“All persons of the age of eighteen years or over who are citizens of the United States and who have lived in the state, county and precinct thirty days immediately preceding the election at which they offer to vote, except those disqualified by Article VI, section 3 of this Constitution, shall be entitled to vote at all elections.”
See Article VI, §1 here
Over the past half-century, the minimum length of time you must live in the state in order to vote has shrunk, but the core requirement to live in the state has never changed.
Congress has never granted voting rights to ‘Never Residents’. The law governing US citizens voting from overseas – the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”) – does not include ‘Never Residents’. UOCAVA simply permits absent US residents to vote whilst abroad.
If there is no federal law or Washington state law granting voting rights to ‘Never Residents’, how are they voting here? No one quite knows the answer. The Secretary of State just considers these people ‘Overseas Voters’.
See residency requirement here
It is concerning, because Overseas Voters are not required to provide any identification or to register before casting a ballot. If a ballot is received, it’s counted.
Counties seem confused what to do with ‘Never Residents’ requesting a ballot.
See email here
‘Never Resident’ ballot requests look worrying.
See applications here