During the 2020 election, the swing state of Georgia was part of a larger trend of abnormally high requests for overseas ballots through a system riddled with potential loopholes and lack of safeguards. But this year, the number of overseas ballots requested in the state reflects a nearly 15 percent decline from what Georgia sent to overseas voters in 2020.
Since 1986, U.S. military members, their family members, and overseas citizens have been allowed to vote absentee under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Voting Act (UOCAVA).
During the 2020 election in Georgia, 28,454 UOCAVA ballots were transmitted by the state to voters who had requested them, according to a report from the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC). But that number has declined by nearly 15 percent in 2024, with only 24,172 UOCAVA ballot requests in Georgia during this cycle, according to data from the Secretary of State. For reference, in 2016 only 18,634 UOCAVA ballots were transmitted by the state.
Georgia is one of several states that permits a “U.S. citizen who has never resided in the U.S.” to vote, as long as they have “a parent or legal guardian that was last registered in Georgia,” according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). According to a 2023 fact sheet on UOCAVA voters from the EAC, the address where an overseas voter is registered may be “home to other registered voters,” and “election mail for a UOCAVA voter who no longer lives at that address” may still be sent to
