Which state you vote in when you live abroad

Short answer: you vote in the state where you last lived right before you left the United States, and that stays true long after you've sold the house, closed the bank account and lost touch with the neighbors.

The short version

Overseas citizens vote from their last US residence: "the state or territory where you last resided, immediately before leaving the United States" [1].
That address stays valid even if you no longer own property or have any other ties there, and even if your intent to return is uncertain [1].
You can't choose a state. FVAP says you must have actually established residency there [2].
Give a street address on the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA, Standard Form 76), never a PO Box [1][3].
Your state controls which races you see. Some send a full ballot, others limit some overseas voters to federal offices, depending on whether you intend to return [2][4].

The rule in one sentence

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) gives Americans abroad the right to vote absentee in federal elections. The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), which runs the forms, puts the residence rule plainly: your voting residence is "in the state or territory where you last resided, immediately before leaving the United States" [1].

The FPCA instructions say the same thing in slightly softer words: for overseas citizens, the address you enter "is usually the last place you lived before moving overseas" [3]. The election office uses that address to place you in a county, a precinct and, for some races, a district. Your ballot doesn't go there. It goes to the email address or foreign mailing address you give in the next section of the form [3].

Think of it like your hometown on a high school reunion list. It's fixed by where you actually were, not where you'd like to be.

What if nothing is left back home?

This is the question we hear most, and the answer is reassuring. FVAP says your voting residence "remains valid" even if [1][5]:

you no longer own property or have other ties to that state, or
your intent to return to that state is uncertain.

So it doesn't matter that your old apartment in Columbus now has new tenants, that your parents moved to Arizona, or that you haven't been back since the Fourth of July three years ago. You still register at that last address.

A few practical wrinkles:

The building is gone or renamed. Use the address as it was when you lived there. If you lived somewhere rural without a street address, ask the local election office how to describe the location so it can place you in the right precinct.
You only had a PO Box. Don't write it. "DO NOT write a PO Box # in section 2," the FPCA instructions say, and FVAP warns that forms with a PO Box may be automatically disqualified [1][3].
You lived in a dorm, on base or in temporary housing. Use that street address if it was your last US residence. If you aren't sure it counts, the local election office for that address can tell you.

Moved between states before you left?

Only the last stop counts. If you grew up in Ohio, went to college in Michigan, worked three years in Texas and then flew to Madrid, your voting state is Texas, at your last Texas address [1]. It doesn't matter where you lived longest, where you were born or where your family is.

Two more cases worth spelling out:

You moved shortly before leaving. If you spent a few months at a new address before the big move, that's generally your last residence, even if you never got around to updating your driver's license. If you never registered to vote there, the FPCA takes care of that, because it registers you and requests a ballot in one go [3].
You came back for a while, then left again. If you actually moved back to the US and lived somewhere new, that new address replaces the old one when you leave again. A long Thanksgiving visit with your sister doesn't.

Couples and families with different states

The rule works person by person. Each spouse votes from his or her own last US residence. If you met your husband in Berlin and he left from Oregon while you left from Georgia, you'll vote in different states, on different ballots, with different deadlines. That's normal.

Situation	Where you vote	Note
Single move from one state	That state, last street address	Valid even with no ties left [1]
Moved between states before leaving	The last state you lived in	Earlier states don't count [1]
Spouses who left from different states	Each from his or her own last address	Separate FPCAs, separate deadlines
Spouse who never lived in the US	Depends on the state's never-resided rule	Some states allow a parent's address; a spouse's address isn't the same thing [2][5]
Military spouse	May keep the service member's residence	FVAP allows this for spouses of service members [2]
Born abroad, never lived in the US	Often a parent's last US address, if that state allows it	FVAP counted 31 such states on its fact sheet [5]

Two things to flag in that table. First, the special rule letting spouses share a residence applies to military families: FVAP says spouses of service members may keep "the same residence or domicile that your Service member has established" [2]. Civilian couples don't get that option. Second, a spouse or child who has never lived in the US depends entirely on state law. FVAP's fact sheet says 31 states let such citizens vote through a parent's residence, and that without one, "you may not currently have voting rights" [5]. FVAP's figures on this have changed over time, so check your parent's state on FVAP's state-by-state pages before you file.

Can you switch states?

Not by choice. FVAP is blunt about it: "You are not permitted to choose any state; you or your service member must have established residency in a state" [2]. You can't register in Florida because a cousin lives in Tampa, or in a swing state because it feels like your vote would count more.

The way a voting residence really changes is the way any residence changes: you move back, live in a new state, and then that becomes your last address when you leave again. FVAP adds two cautions. "When claiming a new legal residence or domicile, legal counsel should be consulted," and there may be tax implications when changing your residence from one state to another [1][2]. Our guide to whether voting from abroad makes you owe state tax covers that side.

If you think you registered at the wrong address, contact the local election office for the address you used and the one you should have used, and send a corrected FPCA. Fix it well before the next election, not the week ballots go out.

Which races you'll see

Your state decides what's on your ballot, and here the two boxes on the FPCA matter. Overseas citizens pick one [3]:

"I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, and I intend to return."
"I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, and my intent to return is uncertain."

Every state must let you vote for President and Vice President, US Senate and US House. Beyond that, "depending on your state, you may receive a ballot with local or state offices and initiatives as well," FVAP says [2]. Some states give everyone the full ballot. Others send a federal-only ballot to voters who don't intend to return.

Oregon is a good example of how a state sorts this out. Its county clerks use a one-page flowchart that asks whether the person's most recent US address was in Oregon and whether the person intends to reside in Oregon. The answers decide whether the voter gets a full Oregon ballot or a federal-only one [4]. Your state may do it differently, so look it up on FVAP's state page or ask your county election office.

Pick the box that's true for you. Don't choose "intend to return" just to see the governor's race if it isn't so, and don't choose "uncertain" out of habit if you're coming home in two years.

Getting it right on the form

Find your last US street address. Dig out an old lease, utility bill or tax return if memory fails.
Look up your state on FVAP. The state-by-state pages list how to send the FPCA, what ID number the state wants and where the local election office is.
Fill in the FPCA online or on paper. Section 2 is your voting residence; section 3 is where you actually get mail now [3].
Choose your voter category honestly. It can change which races you see.
Send it every January. FVAP recommends a new FPCA every year you vote absentee, and after any move or email change [3].

Party groups also help members with registration. Democrats Abroad and Republicans Overseas both run registration drives abroad; neither can change your voting state, which is set by law, not by party.

Which state you vote in from abroad: your last US address decides