DemDaily: Seven Million Votes
January 14, 2026
According to the US State Department, there are close to 7 million Americans of voting age who live abroad.
That is roughly equivalent to the number of registered voters in Virginia and more than enough to sway a presidential election.
The little known heroes at the forefront of the global voter outreach program to our citizens overseas is Democrats Abroad, whose teams are working hard to make sure that every US and dual citizen overseas votes.
| Democrats Abroad (DA) is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living permanently or temporarily overseas, and strives to provide Americans abroad a Democratic voice in our government and elect Democratic candidates by mobilizing the overseas vote. DA is recognized by the DNC as a "state" and is represented on the DNC by eight voting members. |
DA partners with the 50+1 state Democratic parties to engage new and existing voters abroad with digital outreach, community building around the world, and voter education.
A volunteer-led organization, Democrats Abroad runs 50 country committees throughout Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia and has members in more than 200 countries who vote in every state and Congressional District in the United States.
History
Efforts to secure the voting rights of overseas citizens began with Democrats in Paris and London during the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential election, leading to the creation of Democrats Abroad in 1964.
It was not until the passage of the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act of 1975, led by then-House Majority Leader Tip O'Neill, that the rights of these citizens were recognized.
Led by Democrats Abroad, legal protections and full access to register and vote by absentee ballot was finally provided through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 instituted permanent registration for two full federal election cycles and the first collection of statistics on overseas absentee voting.
In 2020, nearly one million ballots were cast by American voters living abroad, an increase of 73% over 2016. Essentially the bluest of all "states," DA helped bring home wins for Biden-Harris in Arizona and Georgia with 18,000+ votes from abroad -- exceeding the president's margin of victory.
DA's mobilization efforts had a measurable impact on critical races in 2022 and 2023, including the election of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who won by 280 votes.
In 2024, the Democrats Abroad March Global Presidential Primary (GPP) spanned in-person voting in 95 centers in 44 countries worldwide, and early mail and remote voting, with ballots cast from 109 countries.
DA members executed 233,000+ calls to Americans abroad, 244,000 targeted texts, 34,000+ voter assistance requests, 14.3 million ad impressions, and facilitated well over 150,000 ballot requests.
In 2025, the "off-election" year, Democrats rocked it -- with Democrats Abroad playing a critical role in the electoral gains by mobilizing the overseas vote through their large-scale global voter outreach program and campaigns.
● Trained voter assistance teams worldwide assisted tens of thousands of overseas voters
● Thousands of in-country GOTV events held across the globe
● Sustained GOTV and Voter Help Desk operations year-round
● Voter engagement increased by over 10% compared to the last off-cycle year in 2023
● 300+ Resistance events held globally
● Major online events included programming around California Prop 50, and international listening sessions with voters across the globe
● Targeted voter engagement in WI, FL, VA, AZ, TX, PA, NJ, and CA elections
● Over 60 coordinated outreach campaigns against voter suppression, including opposing the SAVE Act,
| Democrats Abroad Leadership: International Chair: Martha McDevitt-Pugh (Netherlands) * International Vice Chair: Steve Nardi (Canada) * International Secretary: Inge Kjemtrup (UK) * International Treasurer: Daniela Salvioni (Italy) * International Counsel: Kate Sawyer (Switzerland) * Regional Vice Chair, Asia Pacific: Suma Shannanna (India) * Regional Vice Chair, EMEA: Keith Brannum (Turkey) * Executive Director: Karen Frankenstein (Germany) Director of Communications: Aaron Fishbone (Slovakia). DNC Members: Martha McDevitt-Pugh (Netherlands/Votes in CA), Steve Nardi (Canada/MI); Sue Alksnis (Canada/CT), Kenton Barnes (Germany/OH), Julia Bryan (Czech Republic/NC), Alan Cheilek (United Kingdom//CA), Cory Lemke (Korea/AZ), and Art Schankler (Serbia/NY) |
How It Works
Overseas voters covered under the Help America Vote Act include members of the seven Uniformed Services and the US Merchant Marines and their family members, US citizens employed by the federal government, and private US citizens residing outside the country.
US citizens retain the right to vote no matter how long they have lived abroad. They vote where they last resided, or if they have never lived in the US, where their US parent last resided. Each state has different procedures and deadlines.
The Act does not apply to non-federal elections, although the majority of states and territories allow qualifying citizens to register and vote in state and local elections as well.
Are you registered to vote?
Check your ballot and state deadlines at www.votefromabroad.org
Are you registered to vote?
Check your ballot and state deadlines at www.votefromabroad.org
Democrats Abroad Additional Resources
* Outreach to members of Congress on major issues
* Online programs, webinars with public leaders and grassroots organizers
* Voter registration outreach in nearly every country on earth
* Targeted emails to members with voter deadlines and ballot information
* Phonebanking program reaching hundreds of thousands of voters abroad
* Engaging students studying abroad in our campaigns! Learn More
* Learn More: DemocratsAbroad.org
* Find a Democrats Abroad Event in your country! Here
* Join Democrats Abroad Here
| “We can’t vote them out if we don’t vote... At this crucial time in our nation’s history, it’s never been more important to exercise the privilege granted to us as Americans to make our voice heard at the ballot box. And DA is dedicated to mobilizing our fellow expatriates to do just that.” - Democrats Abroad Chair Martha McDevitt-Pugh |
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