Stories
Can I Vote from Abroad if I Do Not Maintain a US Address or Residence?
Kit Hopkins
Kit Hopkins left the U.S. with her family at age 11, but the U.S. never left her - no matter where she lived in her creative and changing life. Kit shows us that YES, you are eligible to vote from abroad even when you no longer own property or maintain an address in the U.S.
Voting from Abroad Without Holding Property in the U.S.
Some Americans live overseas as a result of someone else’s choice, such as the children of parents who move beyond U.S. borders for work. While these children grow up abroad, they still hold their American citizenship. But do Americans who live overseas and do not maintain property in the United States hold on to their voting rights? Yes, you may be eligible to vote in U.S. elections in that situation.
Meet Kit Hopkins - An American screenwriter voting in Munich without keeping a U.S. residence
Kit Hopkins has enjoyed a tremendous career overseas, with the latest chapter spent as a successful screenwriter in the German film industry. Although she left the U.S. as a young child, her connection to her home country is as strong as ever.
Kit’s unflagging interest in U.S. and world affairs is evident in the many actions she takes beyond her work to support outreach to Americans living abroad, helping them to get their questions answered and take part in the franchise, as well as to support refugees in her adopted city of Munich. Kit’s unique history as the granddaughter of Harry Lloyd Hopkins, a former United States Secretary of Commerce, makes her all the more fascinating.
In her conversation with U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote), Kim dispels a common myth regarding whether Americans living overseas are required to maintain property or an address in the U.S. in order to vote from abroad.
US.VOTE
Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you came to live abroad?
Kit Hopkins
I have been living in Munich for 42 years. Before then I was living in France for about a year. I was brought up to age 11 in America.
My family has always been extremely American, very loyally American. Always very interested in America, whether politics or culture. I think when you have that from an early age it stays with you. Although I spent a long time in Australia going to University, the American part of me was always well-nourished.
When I came to Germany, I came into a completely different lifestyle, but again I was fortunate to find an ex-patriot community here that was working towards following up on the ideals that I had, and learning how to vote.
US.VOTE
You have lived abroad most of your life in various countries. What do you do overseas? How do you sustain yourself?
Kit Hopkins
I started working for Vogue magazine when it started in Munich, which led to freelance journalism. From journalism I became a screenwriter and have been doing that for about the last 35 years. I am 72 now, in semi-retirement but working on a couple of writing projects.
My entire professional career has been in Germany. I’ve produced about 13 films; many others “left in the drawer.”
I have had two children here in Germany – both working in communications – film editing and producing.
US.VOTE
Do you encounter overseas Americans who come through the film industry?
Kit Hopkins
Not too many because my films have been in German. My introduction to American expats and other country expats has come through other places. The first thing I did – I don’t remember how I got involved with it – I was wearing a sandwich board outside a movie theater to help register overseas voters for a presidential campaign in 2004.
US.VOTE
Do you remember the first time you voted from abroad and how you went about it?
Kit Hopkins
I remember thinking to myself, “How do I tell them and have them understand that I am American and not someone who has always been overseas? How do I tell them where I live?” You have to give an address in America. I owned a home, which I no longer own, but that is the address I gave. And that is allowed. I put in my last address in New York.
US.VOTE
So the big question was, did you still need to be a property owner and have a current address in America, or could you simply provide the last address where you lived in the U.S.?
Kit Hopkins
Yes. I also went through this with my kids; it looks more difficult than it is. Some states require you to do this again and again (register and request your ballot). Other states seem to say you are registered with us; we will send you a reminder. That is fabulous.
US.VOTE
Do you know of other issues that stand in the way of Americans voting from overseas?
Kit Hopkins
Another thing people get nervous about is that if they register to vote, they will get in trouble with their taxes. This is because the IRS is so complex and unfair at the moment for overseas Americans. You are a resident earning your money in another country, but you have to put in a form to the IRS every year, even though you are not living there. That can be very disturbing; the financial side has to be dealt with. So the nervousness of the financial side affects people.
US.VOTE
Have you seen this tax issue act as a deterrent to voting from abroad?
Kit Hopkins
Yes, the whole thing about paying taxes in America when you are not earning it in America. And if you want to vote, you worry you may get in trouble. If you are reaching out to people to get them to vote, you must reassure them that voting will not impact the IRS requirements.
US.VOTE
How do you find the process of voting from abroad?
Kit Hopkins
Because I did phone-banking the past two or three years, I understand the process better because I have to tell people how to do it. And I now know people who can answer my questions if I have them. Once you get into the right site online, it is easy. I was nervous the first time, but once you know how to answer the questions, like your last residence address, I am not put off by it.
US.VOTE
The transition from paper to internet has been quite a process over the last decades. Do you feel like it has made voting simpler and more approachable?
Kit Hopkins
Well, the information is online, but I still complete it on paper. New York state always wants everything on paper.
US.VOTE
Have you ever had serious trouble obtaining your ballot in time to vote?
Kit Hopkins
I have not. But you do have to send in the form every year to tell New York that you want a ballot.
US.VOTE
Have you ever used the write-in (emergency) ballot?
Kit Hopkins
No, but I have advised people during phone-banking that the emergency ballot is available.
US.VOTE
If you met someone from America living overseas, what advice might you have for them?
Kit Hopkins
Just to go online and have a look at what options there are – who to get in touch with to get all the info you may want. I know of two very good operations here where people can get information. You can also go online to find out what information your state wants. It is certainly easier for younger people as they are more computer savvy.
US.VOTE
Final question: How do you maintain a feeling of connection with the U.S.?
Kit Hopkins
So many of my friends here are interested in politics internationally; many are American. So it is easy to stay connected.
I still have family in America. My feeling is that what happens to America affects us all intimately in Europe; it is extremely strong. The war in Ukraine is in my face; I have had Ukrainians stay with me. I feel like I have experienced this war as I have no other; its threat is very present for me.
The position of America is very important to me, not only politically but culturally – literature, movies, music. I have used all of that; in my entire life as a screenwriter, that has helped me enormously.
My family is also influential in maintaining this American connection. My grandfather, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, was the right hand man of FDR. People thought of him as “the other president,” Some saw him as radically left; others saw him as an angel. He looked after the little guy with the New Deal. Then during WWII he went to England to talk to Churchill, then to Russia to speak to Stalin. When you grow up as a “Hopkins,” you breathe it - America. It’s been a privilege.
Voters like Kit Hopkins who do not maintain a U.S. address or residence can use US Vote's Voter Accounts to store their voter information and generate forms for each election. Stay connected to your elected representatives and get reminders about election deadlines through your own personalized democracy dashboard.
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