Never Resided Voters

Spring 2017

A Policy Brief
While certain federal statutes provide protections on voter 

eligibility in federal elections, such as the Uniformed and 

Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), elections 

are administered entirely at the State and local levels. A key 

component that determines a person’s voting eligibility is 

whether he or she meets the residency requirements of the 

State they are seeking to vote in. Under UOCAVA, a U.S. citizen 

living outside the United States is eligible to vote in elections 

for federal offices in the last jurisdiction he or she resided prior 

to leaving the United States. 

However, what happens if a U.S. citizen has never lived in the 

United States? Since voter registration is linked to a place of 

residence and these citizens have never resided in the U.S., 

how are they able to participate in the electoral process? Do 

these individuals who do not fall under the traditional UOCAVA 

“overseas voter” definition have a place to vote? 

FVAP refers to U.S. citizens who are 18 years or older and were 

born abroad, but have never resided in the United States, as 

“never resided” voters. These citizens are required to submit a 

tax form to the Internal Revenue Service each year and 18 yearold males must register for the selective service. Based on data 

from surveys of local election officials and overseas citizens, 

the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) estimates there 

were approximately 11,590 registered US citizen voters who 

never resided in the U.S. in 2016. Currently, 361 States allow 

never resided citizens to vote if a parent or legal guardian was 

last domiciled in the State. 

Introduction

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Under UOCAVA, a 

U.S. citizen living 

outside the United 

States is eligible to 

vote in elections for 

federal offices in 

the last jurisdiction 

he or she resided 

prior to leaving the 

United States.
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Background and 2016 Election Feedback

Generally the voter registration process for a never resided 

citizen is simple: they would register to vote using their parent 

or legal guardian’s last known U.S. address and request 

their absentee ballot be sent to their own current overseas 

address. If the never resided citizen submits a Federal Post 

Card Application, or FPCA, with this information to a State that 

does not allow for never resided citizens to vote, the FPCA is 

likely to be rejected. Conversely, if the FPCA is submitted to a 

State that allows for never resided citizens to vote, they would 

likely be registered and the State law or regulations would be 

consulted to determine if the voter receives a full ballot with all 

contests or a ballot containing federal offices only.

U OCAVA voters are U.S. citizens who are active members of the Uniformed Services, the Merchant Marine, their eligible 

family members and U.S. citizens residing outside the United 

States. UOCAVA does not specifically address never resided 

citizens or the broader issue of State residency requirements, 

thus leaving it up to each State to determine the eligibility of 

the never resided voter and, if qualified, the type of ballot they 

will receive. 

FVAP’s intent when discussing this particular group of 

citizens is to highlight the questions and concerns that are 

often encountered when providing assistance to UOCAVA 

stakeholders, and the challenges voters face in navigating 

different State requirements for eligibility. FVAP’s goal is to 

provide information to highlight those questions and concerns 
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so that the issues surrounding never resided voters can be 

addressed. The following is a small sample of never resided 

citizen feedback FVAP received during the 2016 election cycle:
Never Resided 5

As these inquiries show, many of the never resided citizens, 

or their family members, who received the unfortunate news 

that they would not be allowed to vote in the election felt very 

passionately about their rights to vote and did not fully understand 

the process. Highlighting this small but outspoken group of 

citizens is important as FVAP continues to receive questions 

from voters and local and State election officials regarding 

the rules and guidelines for these never resided citizens. This 

unique group of voters must navigate these added complexities 

of citizenship and residency, in addition to the time, distance 

and mobility challenges many overseas voters face.
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Current Statutory Landscape

Currently, 36 States allow for never resided U.S. citizens to vote based, at a minimum, on their parent(s) or legal 

guardian(s)’ last residence in the United States. Four States 

extend this allowance based on a spouse’s last residence, while 

Illinois only extends to children of military Service members. 

Of the 36 States with statutory or administrative language 

addressing never resided citizens, seven specify that a never 

resided citizen is eligible to receive ballots for federal offices 

only. 

The statutory or administrative language for never resided U.S. 

citizen voters varies by State, some examples include:

Colorado § 1-8.3-102.2.D

(d) An overseas voter who was born outside the United 

States, is not described in paragraph (b) or (c) of this 

subsection (2), and, except for a state residency 

requirement, otherwise satisfies this state’s voter 

eligibility requirements if the last place where a parent, 

legal guardian, spouse, or civil union partner of the voter 

was, or under this article would have been, eligible to 

vote before leaving the United States is within this state.

Ohio § 3511.01

(3) A person who was born outside of the United States, 

who may be considered a state resident using the 

standards for residency established in sections 3503.02 

and 3511.011 of the Revised Code, and who otherwise 

satisfies the requirements to vote in this state, if both of 
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the following apply:(a) The last place where the person’s 

parent or legal guardian was, or would have been, eligible 

to vote before leaving the United States is within this 

state; and (b) The person has not previously registered 

to vote in any other state.

Rhode Island § 17-21.1-2

(b) If the person is a United States citizen and has never 

lived in the United States, but has a parent who is a 

qualified elector pursuant to this chapter, then that person 

shall be eligible to register and vote in federal elections 

where his or her parent is a qualified elector.

Georgia § 21-2-219

(e) A person who is a United States citizen, permanently 

residing overseas, who has never lived in the United 

States, may register and vote in this state in the county 

of residence of either of such person’s parents under 

the limitations of subsection (c) of this Code section if 

either of the person’s parents is registered to vote in this 

state. Such person shall be deemed to reside at the same 

location as the parent for voting purposes.

While 36 States have addressed never resided citizens in statute 

or by administrative rule, others have not done so thus creating 

potential confusion for voters seeking to determine where, and 

even if, they are eligible to vote. Most recently New Jersey 

addressed this topic through Senate Bill 92. Originally the bill 

passed both chambers but was later given a conditional veto by 

the New Jersey Governor due to his concerns with never resided 

voters receiving a local ballot. Senate Bill 92 was refiled in 2017 

with amendments addressing the Governor’s concerns; as of 

February 2017, Senate Bill 92 would allow never resided and 
Citizenship

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To understand how a potential voter can be a U.S. citizen who has never resided in the United States, it is important 

to understand the ways an individual can become a U.S. citizen. 

An individual becomes a citizen by birth or following birth.3

To become a citizen by birth, an individual must:

• Be born in the United States or certain U.S. territories; OR

• If born abroad, had a parent(s) who was a citizen at the time 

of birth.

An individual can become a U.S. citizen following birth by either 

acquiring citizenship through their parents, or by going through 

the naturalization process. Citizenship is acquired through 

the parents under circumstances in which the individual is 

adopted by U.S. citizens or whose parents naturalize before 

the child turns 18.4 Naturalization is the process by which U.S. 

citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he 

or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Citizenship for Families of Military Members

The naturalization process typically requires that the individual seeking 

citizenship be a permanent resident within the United States for a certain 

period of time; however, spouses and dependents of Service members 

can become citizens without ever residing in the United States. The 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 amended the 

overseas citizens with no intent to return to receive a federal 

ballot.2
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Immigration and Nationality Act to allow certain spouses and dependents 

of Service members to naturalize without ever traveling or residing in the 

United States.5

In general, a spouse is eligible for overseas naturalization if:

• He/she is authorized to accompany the Service member abroad 

pursuant to the member’s official orders;

• He/she is lawfully permitted for permanent residence in the United 

States;

• He/she is residing abroad with the Service member in marital union, 

and;

• He/she has been a permanent resident of the U.S. for three years 

immediately preceding the date of filing the naturalization application 

and has lived in marital union with their citizen spouse for at least those 

three years. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

2008 treats qualifying residence abroad as residence and physical 

presence in the U.S. under this section. 

Children of military members also have special exemptions that allow 

them to complete the naturalization process without traveling to the 

United States for any part of that process. They are eligible for citizenship 

under the following conditions:

• At least one parent is a U.S. citizen or, if deceased, the parent was a 

U.S. citizen at the time of death.

• The U.S. citizen parent had been physically present in the United 

States for at least five years. Military service abroad can substitute for 

this requirement. 

• The child is under 18 years old.

• The child is residing outside of the United States in the legal or physical 

custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

Of the 36 States 

with statutory or 

administrative 

language 

addressing never 

resided citizens, 

seven specify that 

a never resided 

citizen is eligible to 

receive ballots for 

federal offices only.
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Residency and Never Resided Voting Eligibility

All of the 36 States with never resided provisions allow U.S. citizens who have never lived in the United States to 

register to vote and request an absentee ballot based on their 

parent or legal guardian’s last residence in the United States. 

While this language initially appears straightforward, there are 

certain gray areas that should be considered.

Spouses, children or parents of a U.S. citizen who died as a result of 

combat during active duty in the U.S. armed forces are also granted 

special provisions that may allow them to become citizens without ever 

residing in the United States. These family members are granted an 

exemption from the naturalization physical presence requirements for 

two years immediately following the Service member’s death.6 

In Focus...

Current never resided provisions are based on an individual’s parent(s)’ last 

place of domicile, but what if that parent has moved back to the United States 

and is no longer “last domiciled,” but instead, “currently domiciled”? At least one 

State, Oregon, has made the interpretation that the never resided provision no 

longer applies in this scenario. Once the parent of the person living overseas 

moves back to Oregon, that parent is no longer considered to have last resided 

in the State, which renders the never resided provision moot and the overseas 

child is no longer qualified under this provision. 

The Oregon example applies to a parent who lived in Oregon, moved overseas, 

and then years later, moved back to Oregon. What if that parent relocated to a 

different State upon returning to the United States? Should the overseas child 

then vote based on the parent’s last residence before he left the United States 

the first time, or based on their parent’s current residence in the new State? State 

statutes are unclear on this and may require a State–by-State interpretation of 

whether that overseas child is eligible in their State.
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Never Resided Spouses

While all 36 States’ never resided statutes cover never resided children, 

only Colorado, Michigan, Oregon and South Dakota cover spouses who 

have never lived in the United States. Under these four States’ laws, 

spouses are eligible to vote in that State if their spouse was last domiciled 

in the State (i.e., a never resided spouse is eligible to vote in Colorado as 

long as their spouse was last domiciled in Colorado). If a never resided 

U.S. citizen is married to a U.S. citizen who last resided in any other State, 

they have no place to register to vote as they do not meet any other State’s 

residency requirements. 

 At least three States (Arizona, Georgia and Nebraska) only allow never resided 

citizens to vote in their State if their parent was last registered to vote in their 

State. In these cases, the never resided individual’s parent(s) must have not 

only lived in the State before leaving the country, but must also have been 

registered to vote in that State. If the parent is still living overseas, then they 

are eligible to register to vote based on UOCAVA, which in turn would make 

their children eligible to vote based on these States’ never resided provisions. 

However, potential problems could arise if the parent is now deceased or has 

moved back to the United States and since registered to vote in another State. 

The never resided child still living abroad may not know if, or where, their 

deceased parent was last registered to vote, or may no longer be eligible under 

these State provisions because their parent has since returned to the U.S. and 

registered elsewhere.

In Focus...

Never Resided Grandchildren

During the 2016 General Election, a small number of potential voters stated 

to FVAP that neither they nor their parents had ever resided in the United 

States. In these cases, their grandparent(s) were the last ones to have lived 

in the United States and it was difficult to determine their grandparents’ last 

place of residence when they did live in the United States. Currently, this 
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Conclusion and FVAP Next Steps

F VAP does not advocate for or against State adoption of never resided provisions; however, it does have a responsibility to 

educate stakeholders, including impacted voters and the States, 

about the implications of having or not having such a provision in 

statute. FVAP is also dedicated to seeking out ways to improve 

the election process for UOCAVA voters. Overseas citizens 

in general face voting complexities that the general domestic 

voting population does not have to consider – and never resided 

citizens have yet another layer of complexity to overcome. The 

FVAP “Overseas Citizen Population Analysis Report” released 

in 2016 found that of the 5.7 million U.S. citizens overseas, 3.1 

million were still under the age of 18.7 The number of never 

resided voters will only increase in the future as these 3.1 million 

reach voting age. 

When considering adopting or modifying existing never resided 

provisions and to be fully prepared for when the situation 

occurs, FVAP encourages all States to consider the impact to, 

and address potential gray areas, for never resided voters: 

exactly who the State wants to grant voting privileges to and 

which ballot these voters will be eligible to receive. FVAP also 

recommends addressing the State’s current policies regarding 

this issue during local election official training sessions.

scenario is not explicitly covered under any existing State’s never resided 

statute. While the number of potential voters impacted is likely small, this 

number could increase in the future as more generations of U.S. citizens 

reside permanently overseas. 
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1 A full list of states with “never resided” provisions can be found here:

https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/reside

2 http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp

3 FVAP does not play a role in determining citizenship. For more information, 

please consult the Department of State or visit https://travel.state.gov/content/

travel/en/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies.html.

4 https://www.uscis.gov/node/42030

5 https://www.uscis.gov/military/citizenship-military-personnel-familymembers/citizenship-spouses-and-children-military-members

6 https://www.uscis.gov/military/family-based-survivor-benefits/survivorbenefits-relatives-us-citizen-military-members 

7 https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/FVAP-OCPA_201609_final.pdf

For more information on the Federal Voting Assistance Program, this 

research, or how FVAP can assist your office, please contact your FVAP 

State Analyst: 

Nate Bacchus (571) 372-0739 nate.a.bacchus@fvap.gov

Meghan Kelly (571) 372-0742 meghan.kelly@fvap.gov