Dem
50
GOP
50
U.S. citizens living abroad, both civilian and military, may vote in the state they last lived in. In the past, voting among overseas Americans was not controversial. Democrats felt that all U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote. Republicans believed that the majority of overseas Americans were in the military and were Republicans. Everyone was happy.
It is now believed that the civilian overseas vote exceeds the military vote and both have become heavily Democratic. The military vote is not what it was because enlisted members are now disproportionately minority and there are far more enlisted service members than officers, who tend to be Republican. It is estimated that there are 6.5 million eligible voters living outside the country, of which 1.6 million are entitled to vote in battleground states.
Consequently, Donald Trump and Republicans generally are trying to make it harder for Americans outside the country to vote. Republicans in Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania have filed various lawsuits to curb overseas voting, claiming it is susceptible to fraud. They also object to a federal law that states that American citizens who have never lived in the U.S. may vote where their parents vote(d). They want all ballots from outside the country to be set aside and counted later. At the very least, this could help Trump on Election Night and then give him an argument to claim fraud when they are counted later and erase any lead he might have.
One problem the Republicans have, though, is PR. Disenfranchising active or former military voters who are risking (or have risked) their lives for their country does not play well with many voters, especially veterans. On the other hand, maybe the lawsuits are working as intended. Some expat groups are saying that they are hearing from people who were planning to vote but now will not because they think their vote will not count. So the lawsuits are a form of voter suppression. The Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office issued a statement saying the Pennsylvania lawsuit is "nothing more than an attempt to confuse and frighten people ahead of an important election." It also said that all ballots sent out are valid and will be counted if returned correctly. (V)