Overseas Voters
Which Washingtonians can be an ‘Overseas Voter’?
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An active-duty military member deployed overseas (and their spouse and adult dependents living with them)
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A US Government employee residing overseas
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A US citizen ex-pat residing overseas
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A US citizen born overseas who has never resided in the United States*
*This is not actually in the law, it is just the practice of the Secretary of State
What are the differences between Overseas Voters and regular voters?
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Overseas Voters don’t need to provide any identification
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Overseas Voters don’t need to register to cast a ballot
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Overseas Voters can receive and return ballots by email
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Overseas Voters get their ballot a few weeks earlier than everyone else
Can an Overseas Voter have their ballot sent somewhere other than overseas?
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Yes. Lots of military Overseas Voters are not actually overseas; they’re just in another state.
How long does someone remain an Overseas Voter?
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Forever. Unless the person contacts the Elections Office and ends their status.
How do I know who on the voter roll is an Overseas Voter?
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You don’t know. Overseas voters’ status as an overseas voter is not publicly available or disclosable.
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That said, you can safely assume someone is an Overseas Voter if the ‘Mailing’ address listed for them in the voter roll is in another country.