The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration, alleging the Department of Defense removed a box from overseas voting postcards that lets U.S. citizens who have never lived in the country register to vote.\n
\nThe box, added in 2013, is checked by potential voters who acknowledge they are U.S. citizens but have never resided in the U.S.—often the children of expatriates. Since 2016, about 11,500 of these overseas citizens have cast ballots, and the number has likely grown.\n
\nThe lawsuit claims the change was made under a declared emergency, a loophole that allowed the Defense Department to eliminate the box without notice. "These American citizens pay federal and state taxes, yet a manufactured ‘emergency’ is now used to impede their right to vote," the complaint states.\n
\nRepublican‑run states have recently sued to bar overseas citizens who have never lived in their jurisdictions from voting. In North Carolina, a court already blocked such votes, while Michigan and other swing states await judicial decisions.\n
\nSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had previously urged military members overseas to vote en masse, implying they could out‑vote Democratic strongholds like Detroit. The DNC’s suit underscores how the GOP seeks to reshape the UOCAVA rules to their advantage.\n
\nSusan Dzieduszycka‑Suinat, a U.S. citizen living in Munich whose daughter never resided in the U.S., said the move was "alarming" and warned that the administration could "slice off a piece of the electorate." The lawsuit seeks to restore the box and prevent disenfranchisement of thousands of expatriates.\n
\nThe case is now pending before the federal court, which will decide whether the Department of Defense must reinstate the box before the November election.