Exclusive: Trump administration removes resources to help U.S. citizens born abroad vote

The Trump administration quietly removed state-by-state guidance from a federal voter assistance guide that previously told U.S. citizens born and living abroad whether they were eligible to vote in each state, according to documents reviewed by Democracy Docket.

The removal was noted deep in a new Democratic lawsuit that challenges Trump administration changes to the form used by overseas voters to register and request absentee ballots.

The move could make it harder for a small but significant group of American citizens abroad to understand their voting rights. It’s part of a sweeping attack by the administration on access to the ballot for Americans living overseas — driven by the belief that they’re more likely to vote Democratic.

For years, the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s Voting Assistance Guide included detailed answers for voters who are U.S. citizens living abroad but have never lived in the United States. These voters — sometimes called “never resided” voters — are American citizens who may be eligible to vote through a parent, spouse, legal guardian or other family connection to a state.

In the 2024-25 guide, state sections repeatedly asked: “I am a U.S. citizen living abroad, but I have never lived in the U.S., can I vote in this state?” The guide then gave state-specific answers explaining when those voters could register and cast ballots. 

In Arizona, for example, the guide said a U.S. citizen who had never resided in the U.S. could register to vote in the state if a parent or legal guardian was a U.S. citizen registered to vote in Arizona. 

Michigan’s section said a U.S. citizen who had never resided in the U.S. could vote there through a parent, legal guardian or spouse last domiciled in Michigan, as long as the voter had not registered or voted in another state. 

But the latest 2026-27 version of the federal guide appears to omit that guidance. A search of the new guide for the phrase “never resided” returned no matches.

The change surfaced in a federal lawsuit the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed Wednesday* against the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Office of Management and Budget. 

The complaint alleges that after DOD revised the Federal Post Card Application — the form overseas voters use to register and request absentee ballots — the Federal Voting Assistance Program also took down a webpage that previously provided information to U.S. citizens born and remaining abroad.

That matters because eligibility for these voters often depends on state law. 

Many states allow U.S. citizens born abroad to vote through a family connection to the state. But without the state-by-state guidance, a voter who once could look up whether their family connection to Arizona, Colorado, Michigan or another state gave them the ability to vote may now find no clear answer in the federal government’s main voting assistance guide.

The guide change also comes after the administration removed a related checkbox from the Federal Post Card Application for voters who are U.S. citizens living abroad and have never lived in the United States. The DNC’s lawsuit argues that the combined changes will confuse, burden and disenfranchise eligible voters abroad.

At the very moment U.S. citizens born abroad are facing a wave of Republican-backed lawsuits challenging their eligibility, the federal government has removed some of the clearest public information explaining where and how those citizens can vote.

*Disclosure: The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the DNC in elections cases, though it is not involved in this lawsuit. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.