Pentagon Removes 'Never Lived in U.S.' Checkbox From Overseas Voting Forms
Late in August 2026, the Pentagon submitted revised versions of two federal absentee-voting forms, removing a checkbox that let an overseas U.S. citizen report having "never lived in the United States." NPR
The forms are provided through the Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program, which supplies the paperwork that eligible overseas citizens, U.S. military members and their families use to register and vote in federal elections. One is Standard Form 76, titled "Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)." FVAP The FPCA is for absent Uniformed Service members, their families, and citizens living outside the United States. It acts as both voter registration and absentee ballot request, one filing that covers two steps. FVAP
FVAP urges overseas voters to submit a new FPCA every year and when they move. Using the FPCA ensures the voter's state sends the ballot at least 45 days before the election, a protection that other forms do not always provide.
The August revision changed the voter-status section. After the removal, voters without an active-duty military connection have two options left. Both require a sworn statement about intending to return to the U.S. or being unsure about returning. The prior "never lived" box gave never-resided applicants their own category on the federal form.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program says state election officials can keep processing older versions of its forms. The Pentagon said: "States administer elections and can process any form or application that provides the information required to verify a voter's eligibility to vote in their jurisdiction."
States run elections. States, not the Pentagon, are responsible for sending ballots to military voters. Reuters States faced a Sept. 19 deadline to send midterm ballots to overseas voters.
The form change connects to state eligibility rules. Many states and Washington, D.C., allow never-resided citizens to vote if a relative last lived in that state or territory before leaving the U.S., including a parent or legal guardian serving in the military. Most overseas voters now are civilians, not military members.
Since 2024, Republican officials have pushed to block never-resided U.S. citizens from voting. Republican court challenges over that voting succeeded in North Carolina and were rejected twice in Michigan. Similar lawsuits continue in Arizona and at least five other states.
On procedure, the Pentagon submitted emergency requests to bypass the usual months-long process for changing federal forms. Both FVAP forms normally require review and public comment every three years.
The broader context here is administrative risk in the ballot-transmission window. For local officials, the question is which version of the FPCA arrives in the weeks around the 45-day and Sept. 19 deadlines, and how voter intent is documented when the federal checkbox no longer matches a state law that still recognizes never-resided eligibility. For litigators, the revision does not decide eligibility itself, but it changes the paper record that counties and campaigns will cite in challenges over overseas ballots.
