The Maryland Senate election is on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, but overseas absentee ballots go out September 21. Be sure to request an emailed overseas absentee ballot now and mail back your ballot ASAP! More info here.
About the Maryland Senate Race
Maryland residents serving in the Uniformed Services or residing outside of the United States may register to vote and vote in Maryland. If you would like to find out your voter registration status in Maryland, you can use our voter look-up website. The more of us that vote, the more Congress will prioritize Americans abroad issues. This is why it's so important for everyone living abroad to vote. To read more about this race click here.
Angela Alsobrooks
1. How do you think access to voting from abroad can be improved?
Until such electronic methods are implemented, Congress then must pass legislation ensuring that overseas absentee ballots are prioritized and automatically sent out to voters who voted in prior elections. We also must ensure that there is adequate staffing and procedures at U.S. embassies and consulates dedicated to collecting and delivering ballots in a timely manner.
When we pass voting rights legislation in Congress, we must include voting reforms that make it easier for all people to vote absentee, such as by eliminating the requirements for witnesses, for Americans abroad as well.
2. Several bills have been making their way through the House that are aimed at drawing attention to and/or addressing some of the most critical issues facing US citizens who live outside the country. Would you be willing to introduce Senate companion versions of the following bills?
Yes
Yes
Yes
3. Will you co-sponsor S.597 - Social Security Fairness Act?
Yes
4. How do you think US citizen services at consulates and embassies could be improved?
We must make it easier for U.S. citizens to get the help they need at their embassies and consulates by increasing funding of the U.S. Citizen Services Sections and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. We also must hire more people to work at embassies and consulates so there are no backlogs, delays, or long wait times for filing paperwork. Services must also be simplified to reduce headaches and confusion in addition to creating more opportunities for people to file paperwork online. We should also prioritize communications with U.S. citizens abroad to ensure that they can receive timely help by email, phone, and video chat via official websites.
5. What tax, overseas information reporting, and financial access reforms would you support to relieve the undue burden faced by low- and middle-class Americans abroad?
I support expanding Direct File for all U.S. citizens, including Americans abroad, simplifying the U.S. income tax return for certain U.S. citizens living abroad, and expanding IRS services to those abroad, such as taxpayer support hotlines and re-opening overseas IRS offices, to ensure they receive the necessary aid to file their taxes.
We should implement the Same-Country Exception and exempt Americans from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) reporting if they bank in the same country where they’re a bona fide resident to help Americans abroad file their tax returns in a timely manner. Exempting Americans abroad from FATCA will also allow them to access general basic banking services without delay.
I support the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act (HR 5432), which would reform the Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) reporting requirements by creating a higher reporting threshold and adjusting for inflation and addressing the harsh penalties imposed by the IRS for non-willfully neglecting to file forms.
Further, I support the Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82), legislation ensuring that Americans abroad with pensions in their country of residence receive the full amount of Social Security payments owed to them. Every person deserves to receive their full hard-earned Social Security payments, no matter where they reside.
6. Would you support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency, provided that they are resilient against abuse and are beneficial to the Internal Revenue Service? Such a change is commonly known and used in the rest of the world as “residency-based taxation.”
Yes, I support adjustment to the tax codes that align tax residency with physical residency by implementing residence-based taxation rather than citizenship-based taxation as it will protect low-income and middle-class U.S. citizens abroad from double taxation and implement fair representation.
7. What more do you believe could be done to keep U.S. citizens abroad in mind when passing legislation in order to avoid unintended consequences for those living outside the United States?
I believe that in Congress, we should promote the Americans Abroad Caucus in the House and the Special Committee on Americans Abroad in the Senate. And not only is it critical that we establish a Commission (HR 2729) to study the impact of federal laws and regulations on Americans living abroad to best determine what policies are necessary to support them, but we should also work to include direct testimony and comments from Americans abroad when developing legislation so we know at a personal level what they are experiencing and hear their recommendations, particularly when it comes to matters pertaining to voting, taxes, and visas. With direct input from U.S. citizens abroad, we will then be able to better tailor legislation that helps Americans abroad, rather than unintentionally harms them.