A new bill introduced in the U.S. House on August 1 threatens to block overseas Americans from voting in federal elections.

H.R. 4851, the Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility (PROVE) Act, would sharply limit voting rights for millions of U.S. citizens living abroad. It amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require non-military Americans overseas to prove either a current residential address in the United States, or that of an immediate family member, before they can receive an absentee ballot from their home state. Those who cannot meet this new residency test would lose their right to vote in their former state and instead be required to vote in the District of Columbia for limited federal offices (President and a non-voting House rep), effectively disenfranchising many long-term Americans abroad who remain subject to U.S. laws and obligations, while denying the deep personal and civic ties we have to our home states. Click here for the full text of the bill. 

Why this matters
The PROVE Act redefines millions of Americans overseas as second class citizens by imposing proof-of-residence barriers designed to keep us from the ballot box. We are law-abiding citizens who pay taxes, register for selective service, and meet every other obligation of citizenship, we should not be denied full citizenship rights and stripped of our constitutional right to vote.

The PROVE Act turns its back on those who have served, ripping away the voting rights of U.S. reservists, veterans, and military families living abroad.

The PROVE Act erases abroad Americans’ home-state identity, stripping away the deep ties to where we come from and relegating us to vote in D.C., where we have no ties AND where voters have no real representation.

H.R. 4851 is aimed at disenfranchising large numbers of civilian voters abroad, continuing an escalating and anti-democratic pattern of efforts by Congress and red states to target the overseas vote and silence our voices.

Next Steps
We’re actively reaching out to Congressional offices to learn more — and preparing our teams to push back. 

Congress is currently out of session until September 2, but we are monitoring the bill closely and will update this post to keep you informed!

What you can do RIGHT NOW:

• Go to votefromabroad.org and request your absentee ballot for this year.
• Ask every American abroad you know to do the same — especially 18-year-olds or those who will be 18 by November 3, 2026 who have never registered before.
• Get ready to speak out. We will need your voice as we mobilize to stop this bill.

This is the latest in a growing wave of attacks on voting rights. We cannot let Americans abroad be silenced.

#VoteFromAbroad #AmericansAbroad #HR4851