America Expats, what do you think about DJT's plan to eliminate mail-in voting for all but military members overseas?
Posted by tomorrow509@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 68 comments
Question as per the title line.
NotABotStill@reddit
Post locked. This is not a sub about American politics
emberleo@reddit
I think he doesn’t have the power to do that.
tomorrow509@reddit (OP)
Federal courts have ruled he cannot impose global tarrifs but here we are.
cosmicchitony@reddit
That proposal would disproportionately disenfranchise American expats, as mail-in ballots are the primary method for millions of us to participate in elections. It feels like a direct attack on our fundamental right to vote from abroad.
tomorrow509@reddit (OP)
My feelings exactly. Hopefully reason will rule and it will not happen.
dnvrjeep@reddit
Like most of his policies, it does not follow the constitution. Voter suppression is a cornerstone of republican strategy.
Bokbreath@reddit
Unfortunately the constitution is whatever SCOTUS says it is.
Tardislass@reddit
Two things:
1)He knows he can't do this because states decided the how and when of voting in elections. States rights are paramount here.
2)In the 2024 Presidential rate, the amount of Democrats and Republicans who took park in mail-in voting and ballots was almost equal after Democrats having the advantage for years. So his win largely depended on Mail-In Voters.
So in conclusion: RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!
fjortisar@reddit
I think in this case it could happen because US citizens residing outside of the US can only vote because of a federal law (UOCAVA). You're no longer a resident of a state so states wouldn't have to provide you a way to vote, which is why you can only vote in federal elections in some states.
F3AR3DLEGEND@reddit
You remain a resident of the state you last resided in.
fjortisar@reddit
No, you don't. How could you be a resident of some place you don't live? You maintain VOTING residence only because of the UOCAVA. Voting residence is different than residence.
Bokbreath@reddit
You are right. All the downvoters are wrong. They don't understand the difference between a legal requirement and their choice.
expectingthexpected@reddit
Wanna make your head explode? I’ve never lived in the US but I’m a resident of Michigan for voting purposes. By all means though, I should definitely take your interpretation over the MI secretary of state’s
fjortisar@reddit
And I'm a voting resident of Ohio and have voted like that for the past 16 years, I don't see why that would make my head explode. This is what exactly is mandated by the UOCAVA https://www.justice.gov/crt/uniformed-and-overseas-citizens-absentee-voting-act
expectingthexpected@reddit
You literally asked “how could you be a resident of some place you don’t live”. Do you have two people accessing your account because your comments are all over the place on this.
i_hate_this_part_85@reddit
Russian misinformation accounts …
F3AR3DLEGEND@reddit
Most states literally let you remain a resident until you become a resident in another U.S. state. It depends on the per-state laws.
For example in Washington, they facilitate your vote as an overseas voter and your vote counts for that state so long as you had an address in Washington: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/voter-eligibility-resources/military-and-overseas-voters
fjortisar@reddit
That's because of the UOCAVA though, they have to let you vote by federal law. If UOCAVA is repealed they would no longer have to allow this, but states could likely still allow it if they choose, like I said above.
fromwayuphigh@reddit
This is not correct. Even though I've lived abroad for the last six years, the state where I'm registered still sends me early mail voting announcements because I am considered a resident for taxation purposes.
Bokbreath@reddit
It is correct for those of us who have left permanently and no longer maintain any US residence.
fjortisar@reddit
You're probably incorrectly paying taxes unless you maintain some domicile in the state, the state believes you will come back because you still maintain close times somehow (staying a significant amount of time, going there to renew drivers license, etc). If you're not living in the state then you don't owe taxes there unless there is some unearned income that is sourced the state like rental income. This is true even for "sticky" states like California.
fromwayuphigh@reddit
I can't in fact show I have closer ties elsewhere. If I could, I'd cancel/move my voter reg. I have in fact no connection except it's the last place I lived before moving abroad. You can really be a resident of no state, and Virginia is particularly sticky.
fjortisar@reddit
You are not a resident of Virginia then, or any other state. You have voting residence there, which is mandated by the UOCAVA. This is different than residence
fromwayuphigh@reddit
I think I'll stick with my tax accountant's interpretation of the laws.
fjortisar@reddit
You should discuss with your tax accountant because if you have no intention to return to Virginia and you established somewhere else with provable ties (another state or country) then you can abandon your domicile there. Like other sticky states doing something like renewing your drivers license there will "prove" to them that you intend to return. Otherwise if you really have no ties, other than your federally allowed voting residence, then you aren't domiciled or resident there.
https://www.tax.virginia.gov/laws-rules-decisions/rulings-tax-commissioner/23-123
https://www.tax.virginia.gov/laws-rules-decisions/rulings-tax-commissioner/99-68
fjortisar@reddit
Most tax accountants don't understand how non-resident taxes work or have any experience with it. When I went through this I heard 20 different things from 20 different accountants. I just had to read the laws myself. Virginia's is pretty clear, you don't owe Virginia taxes unless you have a Virginia source of income like physically working in the state, or rental income.
https://www.tax.virginia.gov/residency-status
ya-reddit-acct@reddit
I spent a lot of time to cut all ties with the state I last lived in (drivers license official cancelation, letter to have them remove from jury duty, another letter to be removed from voting records, etc., etc.), in order to avoid being asked to pay state taxes (paying uncle Sam is enough), that voting based on some state association is no longer applicable.
lunarbanana@reddit
When I last looked at the rules it said “vote in the state you most recently lived in” which doesn’t depend on all that stuff you did to extricate yourself from a state tax situation
ya-reddit-acct@reddit
DJT wasn't president, either 😉
dunzdeck@reddit
I never lived in the US so I vote in my dad's last state, which is completely fine
yoshimipinkrobot@reddit
Voting doesn’t establish tax residency. It’s your right
ya-reddit-acct@reddit
Many things didn't happen until DJT took over.
RightSideBlind@reddit
I hate it. I'd like to stop having to pay taxes is if I'm not going to be allowed to vote.
Yes, I know he can't legally do it, but Trump has regularly shown that it's only illegal if someone stops him from doing it. Also, my last state of residence was Utah, so that's where I vote. Due to gerrymandering, it's full red, and they'll just do whatever he wants them to do.
HappilyDisengaged@reddit
this is how it starts. teasers that seem like the ramblings of an old man who's lost it...then bam he does it. Nobody thought he was serious about taxing the hell out of the American people (tariffs), send military into US cities, masked men to tackle and arrest brown people en masse, send secret envoys to Greenland as a prelude to annexation, etc.
qlobetrotter@reddit
How it starts?! Hell, it's well underway at this point.
OperationEast365@reddit
"Nobody thought he was serious about..."
Yeah, so, actually a lot of us thought he was serious about those things. Not enough of us, as it turns out.
HappilyDisengaged@reddit
I don't disagree with that. This is why he was allowed to be elected. But to be fair, he says a ton of crap all the time, none of which turns out to be anything
del_snafu@reddit
'No taxation without representation' has a nice ring to it.
tomorrow509@reddit (OP)
Such optimism! You must make a nice income if you live abroad and pay US taxes.
lastsundew@reddit
We don’t get a choice
Sapiopath@reddit
You sort of do though. You can choose to move to a country with a tax treaty with the US which eliminates US tax burden. You’d still have to file with the IRS but state that you’re exercising a treaty provision.
CrazyQuiltCat@reddit
If they make it impossible for you to vote, they should make it. That You don’t have to pay taxes.
No taxation without representation I believe we started a war over this shit
disegna91@reddit
He is a dictator. He's trying to rob people of their vote. The only way republicans stay in power
hw999@reddit
its classic minority rule, fasicts tactics. He said he would be a dictator on day 1. Peole still.dont take him at his word..
Big_NO222@reddit
Maybe we'll have fewer dead people voting in the next election?
TraditionalRemove716@reddit
Simplify the question: "What do you think about DJT?" There. Fixed it. In the words of Stephen Colbert: "I don't care for him so much."
WadeDRubicon@reddit
A man, a plan, a conniption. I just want Congress to repeal the Medicare late enrollment penalties.
Smooth_Juggernaut_24@reddit
We all know what he’s doing
IncomeBoss@reddit
He's eating McDonald's with his tiny hands
Kat_ze@reddit
As someone who was an expat for four years and planning on moving abroad again soon, if that happens I'll stop filing taxes 🤷♀️
fromwayuphigh@reddit
Again, I don't have ties anywhere else. I own essentially nothing - not even a car. My US drivers license is from a totally different state with which I have even less of a connection to (and it will expire next year). I'm not interested in establishing residency in any particular state because I go to the US less than once a year , on average.
Frank1009@reddit
It's a good idea, mail-in voting is a primary source of voter fraud. States would provide online voting for expats.
fjortisar@reddit
How exactly is online voting going to be any better? More convenient, but not better and I wouldn't trust it with the condition of most states network security, also it destroys vote secrecy.
If you mail in you can only vote once, you can't send in 10000 votes and get them all counted. In my state you have to include the following in the envelope
Johnny_english53@reddit
Is it? In the UK we have lots of polling stations, with waits never more than a minute or two. Plus we have mail-in voting. It is all super-secure. It is ALL paper slips though, no electronic voting. Plus polling stations open from 7am until 10pm, giving everyone a chance to vote.
Why in the US do you have such long queues??
buscoamigos@reddit
The long lines are in precincts where more Democrats vote. It is by design to discourage people from voting.
The very reason why Republicans want to do away with mail in voting (even though some states have been exclusively mail voting for decades) is because they can't, among other things, make it more difficult for Democrats to vote.
buscoamigos@reddit
You are lying.
cwt444@reddit
Release the Epstein Files
atropear@reddit
I have no problem going to an embassy or consulate. I just met with a South American friend who had voted at his embassy. He was dressed up like it was a social event. There's a big opportunity for fraud in mail-in voting.
fjortisar@reddit
The US doesn't allow voting at an embassy, like some other countries. The embassy won't help you at all, but they do at least let you drop off your ballots to be delivered through diplomatic mail.
dfsw@reddit
What about those that don’t live close to an embassy? Or are unable to travel due to illness? There is virtually zero overseas voter fraud, it’s less than 1 in 10 million ballots, not even remotely close to be worth even talking about
Not_High_Maintenance@reddit
No, there’s not.
worldisbraindead@reddit
Trump never said that and it's never been his plan. There is one lone House member who has presented a very oddball bill trying to do this. It's never going to get out of committee and would be wildly unpopular on both sides of the aisle. That bill is just not going to happen.
swansongofdesire@reddit
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/18/trump-mail-in-ballots-voting-machines-2016-midterms
worldisbraindead@reddit
No mention of voting from abroad...but, nice try.
swansongofdesire@reddit
So confidently incorrect you are.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/08/20/crackdown-on-mail-in-ballots-wont-focus-on-military-white-house-says/
Go back and reread the OP’s statement. It’s grammatically ambiguous, and entirely correct if you parse it as “eliminate mail-in voting for all but” rather than “eliminate mail-in voting for all overseas”.
tzgq2m@reddit
I could not care less, the US won't be saved by voting, and it very likely will never be saved by any means. That's why I got the F out.
However, we should not be taxed if we aren't allowed to vote. That whole 'no taxation without representation' thing was one of the primary reasons the country exists.
lauranyc77@reddit
Be careful what you wish for
bookyface@reddit
Not constitutional. Courts will strike it down.