Frequently Asked Questions: UOCAVA

The voting rights of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. and members of the uniformed services on active duty away from their Ohio voting residence are governed by a federal law known as “The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act” ( “UOCAVA”), amended by “The MOVE Act,” as well as state law.

Overseas Citizens

Generally, if you are a citizen residing outside the U.S., you are eligible to vote in elections in the state in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. if you were, or could have, registered to vote in that state while residing there, or currently are eligible under state law to vote in that state.

A person who was born outside the United States is deemed to have a voting residence in the state at the place in the precinct where the person's parent or guardian continuously resided for at least thirty days immediately before leaving the United States.

Members of the Uniformed Services

If you are serving on active duty in the uniformed services (U.S. Armed Services; merchant marines; and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, the national guard and organized militia) and meet the requirements for voting at your Ohio voting residence, you may vote a uniformed services absentee ballot. Your spouse and dependents may vote a uniformed services absentee ballot only if they left their Ohio voting residence to be with or near you.

What is the voting residence of a uniformed services absentee voter?

The voting residence of a service member is the place in Ohio where the service member resided for at least thirty days immediately preceding the commencement of his or her service, unless he or she later established a voting residence elsewhere in Ohio.

Must uniformed services absentee voters be registered to vote?

Yes.