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    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

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  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

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    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

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Home Retirement/Living

A Guide For U.S. Overseas Voters

How To Vote As An American Living Abroad

by Lee Harrison
Nov 23, 2022
in Retirement/Living
0 0
A woman with an American flag at the beach at sunset

Adobe Stock/ulza

One of the many things to figure out in your new life overseas is how to vote back in the United States. About 3 million overseas residents are eligible to vote in American elections, but surprisingly few know exactly how to do it.

Granted, some people prefer to leave American politics behind when they move abroad, including participation in U.S. elections. But to others, exercising their right to vote remains very important.

Let’s look at the process, step by step.

3 Things To Know

Here are a few general principles for overseas American voters to keep in mind.

1. You’ve got the right to vote

All American citizens over 18 have the right to vote, even if they don’t live in the United States. In some cases, depending on state rules, even those Americans who have never lived in the United States have the right to vote.

2. It’s a state process

Even though the federal government makes some of the rules, voting in the United States is under the purview of the states… not the federal government. So just like when you’re voting from within the States, voting from abroad must be done in accordance with state rules.

Which state is “yours”? We’ll get to that in a minute…

Consulates abroad can play a role in the election process, but consulates are not polling places. You can’t go there on election day to vote or go there in advance to pick up a ballot.

3. Electronic ballot requests

Due to the unreliability of some international postal systems, federal law now requires that states provide voters a way to electronically request and receive their blank absentee ballots. This is accomplished by using email attachments, document downloads, or online portals.

Electronic return of your completed ballot: As of today, most states allow some form of electronic return of your ballot. If you’re not from one of the electronic-delivery states, you’ll need to get the physical ballot back to the state prior to election day. More on this later.

You can always vote in federal contests, but the ability to vote for state and local candidates is not universal. Check with your state to be sure.

No state allows you to simply vote over the internet: At least as of now…

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Which State Is “Yours” If You Live Abroad?

Your “voting state” will be the last place you lived in the United States before moving abroad. Your former physical address in that state will determine the specific ballot you get, showing the appropriate state/local candidates and ballot initiatives.

Use this voting address even if:

  • You or your family no longer own a property at that address or in that state.
  • You no longer have any ties to that state.
  • You never intend to return to that state.
  • Your address in that state no longer exists as a residence.
  • You were not registered to vote when you lived there.

While researching this article, I learned that I voted in the wrong state several times, believing that I had to be formerly registered to vote in my “voting state.” When in doubt, local election officials are usually happy to help.

The official federal government program for overseas voters is the Federal Voting Assistance Program. They provide information on absentee registration, details of upcoming elections, and registration deadlines.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program is federally run, and they serve as an interface between overseas voters and their respective states. This allows all overseas voters to begin the process at the same place regardless of their voting state.

Start the registration process at the beginning of each calendar year, or at least 45 days before an election.

Lee Harrison
Senior Correspondent

Tags: Live abroadlive overseasMove abroadmove overseasus overseas votervoting
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Lee Harrison

Lee Harrison

Lee has been living overseas for nearly two decades, making his first purchase abroad in the colonial city of Cuenca, Ecuador. After that first investment, he traveled extensively across Latin America and Europe looking for the best property deals possible. Lee’s network of property insiders from those travels, along with his understanding of local cultures and languages, has helped him develop insight into local property markets that only the locals usually possess.

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HOME

Top Countries

  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
  • Retirement Living
  • Cost Of Living
  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
  • Gun Ownership
  • English Speakers
  • Safety
BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

Budgets

How Much Will It Cost
To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
  • La Rochelle, France
  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Kotor, Montenegro
  • The Panama City Beaches
  • Paris, France

Resources

Global Living

  • Living & Retiring Overseas
  • Raising A Family Abroad
  • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
  • Offshore & Diversification

Making Money

  • International Real Estate
  • Banking
  • Employment
  • Investing
Meet Our Experts

Real Estate

Overseas Property Alert 

 

How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

VISIT SITE

Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

 

Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

READ MORE

Explore Our Latest Posts

 

Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

EXPLORE

Conferences

Live and Invest In Spain Conference

VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
Learn More About This Event

Offshore Wealth Summit

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER

GREECE WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER
MORE EVENTS

Contact Our Events Team:

Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
1 (888) 627 8834

From Outside North America:
1 (443) 599 1221

Working Hours
Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

Store

Overseas Havens Reports

  • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

Conference Kits

  • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

Services

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  • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
  • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
VISIT OUR STORE

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THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

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