This paper discusses why U.S. laws and regulations affecting the right to vote of overseas Americans in the private sector should be amended. It distinguishes between those issues which would be resolved by the passage into law of H.R. 4173 and H.R. 4237, two bills introduced in the 110th Congress, and those issues which still require new legislation.

Americans abroad are proud of their citizenship and vigilant in guarding their constitutional right to help elect their President and Members of Congress. Their right to vote is the primary means available to them to participate in the American democratic process. As was evident in November 2000, in close elections these overseas absentee votes can make the difference between victory and defeat.

The Overseas Citizens Voting Act of 1975 guaranteed the right to vote in federal elections for U.S. citizens living overseas and for military dependents (active military overseas were already permitted to vote). The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986 and The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 further defined the rights of overseas Americans to vote in U.S. federal elections and set out the parameters for how registration and voting by absentee ballot are to take place.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) was created to address a plethora of problems in voting domestically as well as to eliminate some of those faced by overseas absentee voters. It established minimum standards for states to follow in several key areas of election administration, provided for funding to states to improve election administration and replace outdated voting systems, and created the Election Assistance Commission, a new federal agency to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information. Implementation of HAVA has been hampered to date by lack of appropriations, and by the immensity of its task. Progress must be carefully monitored if its end goals are to be met.

In November 2007, two bills, H.R. 4173 "OVERSEAS Vote Act" and H.R. 4237 "Overseas Voting Practical Amendments Act of 2007", were introduced in the House of Representatives. If passed, they would significantly improve the rights and ability of Americans overseas to vote (see below).

Civilian voter turnout overseas has increased steadily over the last few years, partly due to recent improvements in the laws of a number of states, and especially due to the voter information campaigns, registration drives of many different organizations of Americans abroad and the development of websites facilitating the registration process.

Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), a non-profit, non-partisan foundation, recently launched its upgraded website facilities (www.overseasvotefoundation.org), allowing voters to select their state and then complete the overseas federal registration and ballot application form with the specific requirements of that state. The voter then downloads the completed form in PDF format, signs and mails it to the correct election office address, also provided by OVF.

The Federal Vote Assistance Program (FVAP) has announced a similar possibility through its website (www.fvap.gov). Absentee voters create an account on a secure server hosted by the Department of Defense (DoD). Users from participating jurisdictions are allowed to go one step further. The printed, signed and scanned federal form can be uploaded by the citizen onto the DoD service. Their local election official, after receiving a notification email from DoD, can then log onto the secure server and download the application form.

The FVAP also anticipates that in March of 2008, local election officials would be able to provide a blank ballot to the voter through the DoD server. The UOCAVA citizen would then be able to print, complete and sign the blank ballot prior to submitting it in accordance with state law. These advances in the OVF and FVAP web services represent a big step forward in enabling American overseas voters to participate in federal elections.

Nevertheless, many problems remain. Serious obstacles are still faced by overseas civilian citizens in registering, casting their votes and having them counted. In the Overseas Vote Foundation 2006 Post Election Voter Survey, 20% of the respondents stated that they had tried to vote but could not do so for many reasons, but largely because they could not submit or receive their registration or balloting material in time.

A number of the problems disenfranchising overseas voters would be resolved by the passage of the two bills already introduced in the House in the 110th Congress.

Passage of the above bills and full funding by Congress of the states' efforts to fulfil HAVA legal requirements would eliminate many chronic obstacles to participation by overseas citizens in federal elections. Other problems will remain (timing issues, need for harmonization of requirements among the states, etc.). Constant and coordinated activism by individual voters, associations of overseas Americans, the Americans Abroad Caucus and other members of Congress, as well as the individual states, will remain essential in order to identify and eliminate additional roadblocks on the way to efficient participation of Americans abroad in the electoral process.

ACA is pleased to see the rapid development of efficient websites to assist overseas voters in registering and applying for a ballot and has joined the Strategic Alliance of Overseas Vote Foundation. ACA will aim to inform voters of the existence of the OVF as well as the FVAP website.

ACA applauds the significant support for overseas voters manifested by the introduction of H.R. 4173 and H.R. 4237, strongly endorses both bills and is working hard to promote their passage into law.

ACA also looks forward to working with the Election Assistance Commission, Congress and the Administration to find appropriate and economically feasible ways to resolve the issues still outstanding. Improving the ability of overseas Americans in both the military and the private sectors to register and to vote in U.S. federal elections corresponds to ensuring the most fundamental civil right.