The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), passed by Congress in 1986, allows absentee voting by members of the U.S. military and Merchant Marine, their family members, and U.S. citizens residing outside the United States.

The rule has been around for decades, but in recent years, UOCAVA voting has displayed some anomalies. //

It goes on to say that even if someone else lives at that address now, or the house was torn down, that’s fine because election offices only use voting residence address to determine if you are eligible to vote in that jurisdiction and which ballot to send. //

"Occasionally, current residents may receive election mail for a UOCAVA voter who no longer lives at that address. Election officials should explain to the current resident that a military or overseas voter is eligible to use their former physical residence for voter registration purposes, even if they typically receive mail overseas.”

In 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. It requires all states to accept the Federal Post Card Application as both a voter registration form and an official request for an absentee ballot.

The postcard allows wannabe voters to request ballots by email. That means no postmark. That means you can request your UOCAVA ballot from anywhere. It is hypothetically possible to sit in Anytown, U.S.A., and request that a UOCAVA ballot be emailed to you, while claiming you are in another country. And in 31 states, certain voters can submit their ballots electronically to the state to be counted. //

According to federal documents, “unlike in 2018 and 2016, email was the most common mode of UOCAVA ballot receipt in 2020,” but many voters still mailed their ballots in. //

In 2020, UOCAVA voter participation increased dramatically compared to previous years. That is despite the fact that during the 2020 Covid pandemic, the United States advised Americans abroad — business people, study-abroad students, missionaries, and holiday travelers — to return home. //

Despite an unprecedented number of Americans returning to the states where they could vote on their home turf, the number of UOCAVA ballots counted in the 2020 election was an astronomical 913,734. //

that 36 percent jump in UOCAVA voters another unexplained anomaly of the 2020 election.