American Expat in the UK

This page has some info and thoughts about life as an American in the UK. (Some of it is about being an American abroad; some will be about being an American in the UK.) I’ll add topics as I think of them.

Voting in US elections: the answer is yes

My British friends often ask me if I can vote in US elections. Evidently, the UK revokes the right of UK citizens to vote in UK elections after some years living abroad. Fortunately, almost all US citizens can vote in federal elections no matter where they live or how long they have lived there. Your voting address is the address where you lived before you moved abroad (which for me is in Montgomery County, Maryland), and you can vote for president and (I think; will confirm) for senators and congresscritters from your state and district. You have to do it by absentee ballot, which for Maryland must be sent in on paper. This costs me about £7 (roughly $10) for each ballot I send, but it’s worth it to continue to participate in the process. The Federal Government provides information and a centralized process for applying for the absentee ballot from any state. My only issue is that each time you request an absentee ballot they treat it as a new voter registration and ask you if you want to declare a party affiliation.