FVAP estimates that only about 11 per cent of voting-age Americans overseas cast ballots in the 2024 election. Even modest increases in participation could matter, writes Kathryn Sikkink.David Goldman/The Associated Press
Kathryn Sikkink is the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Canada hosts the largest population of voting-age U.S. citizens outside the United States.
Estimates of its size vary considerably, though. The U.S. government’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) estimated there were about 606,000 voting-age U.S. citizens in Canada in 2022, larger than the voting age populations of Wyoming, Vermont, or Alaska.
Canadian statistics suggest a substantially lower figure: 461,775 people in Canada reported U.S. citizenship in the 2021 Census, including underage minors.
Either way, hundreds of thousands of potential U.S. voters live in Canada, well more than in any other foreign country.
Yet voting participation by Americans abroad is strikingly low. FVAP estimates that only about 11 per cent of voting-age Americans overseas cast ballots in the 2024 election. With such low turnout, even modest increases in participation could matter. And because Canada contains such a large share of the American population abroad, efforts here could have an outsized effect.
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Research on voter participation has found that personal contact can increase turnout. In practice, that suggests informal networks – friends, colleagues and community groups – can play a meaningful role in encouraging Americans abroad to participate. U.S. citizens in Canada can encourage other Americans to vote. Canadians can also remind their American friends and neighbours that U.S. elections have consequences well beyond the United States.
For Americans living abroad, the right to vote in federal elections is protected by U.S. federal law under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. This law requires states to allow eligible overseas citizens to register and vote absentee and to transmit ballots in a timely manner.
Voters abroad can use the Federal Post Card Application, which combines voter registration and a request for an absentee ballot. The process is manageable, but requirements vary by state and it can take time, so voters should start early. The U.S. Vote Foundation and the Overseas Vote websites provide clear, non-partisan guidance on how to register and vote from abroad.
Some eligible voters may be discouraged by recent efforts in Washington to restrict access to voting. U.S. President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act, which includes proof-of-citizenship and voter-identification requirements, did not pass the Senate before it recessed in August. An attempt to pass narrower voter-ID legislation also failed.
The SAVE America Act is not dead, however: supporters have indicated that they may try again when Congress returns in September.
Mr. Trump’s March 31 executive order seeking major changes to mail voting could also affect abroad voters. Its legality is being contested in federal court, and its ultimate effect on the 2026 elections remains uncertain. But on Aug. 11, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from using the U.S. Postal Service to implement its new mail-voting restrictions in the 2026 midterms. The judge wrote: “The executive branch has no authority to regulate elections.”
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Voters abroad therefore have an additional reason to begin with confidence the voting process early, making sure they understand the requirements in their state.
Given the size of the eligible population and persistently low participation, Americans abroad represent a largely untapped electorate.
Canada is particularly important: it has hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens, close cultural and economic ties to the United States, and extensive access to American political news. Many U.S. citizens in Canada hold dual citizenship, so it is important for them to realize that Canadian law does not prohibit Canadian-American dual citizens from exercising voting rights they possess as U.S. citizens.
U.S. elections can influence the prices Canadians pay, the security of Canadian jobs, and the policies governing everything from cross-border trade to Arctic defence.
So, Canadians, encourage your American friends and acquaintances to vote, and send them the websites that have reliable information about how to do it. Asking an American friend whether they plan to vote may feel nosy, but neighbourly encouragement is hardly inappropriate when decisions made in Washington profoundly affect Canada and the rest of the world.