Can You Vote in a State You’ve Never Lived In?

Roberto Lee Cortes, Pexels

A little-known Nevada law is now facing a legal challenge that could reshape who counts as a Nevada voter. At the center of the fight is a striking fact: some U.S. citizens who have never lived in Nevada, and in some cases have never lived anywhere in the United States, are allowed to cast ballots in the state’s elections.

The rule lets these citizens vote based on where a parent or guardian last lived before leaving the country. In Nevada, as in most states, citizens born abroad can qualify to vote through that family connection, even if they have never set foot in the state themselves. All that is required is that Nevada was the parents’ most recent home before moving overseas.

The Lawsuit

Late last month, the Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party, and Republican Secretary of State nominee Jim Marchant filed a lawsuit challenging the practice. They argue the law conflicts with the Nevada Constitution, which requires voters to have actually resided in the state before casting a ballot.

Their core claim is straightforward: residency cannot be inherited. The plaintiffs say the constitution requires the voters themselves, not their parents, to have lived in Nevada. “The Nevada Constitution is clear,” the lawsuit argues. The suit asks the court to strike the provision and direct election officials to remove the affected registrations before future elections.

The case is not happening in isolation. The RNC has filed similar challenges in several other states, including North Carolina, Nebraska, and Colorado, as part of a broader national election effort. Republicans point to a favorable ruling in North Carolina as a sign the argument can succeed in court.

The timing raises a fair question that the lawsuit itself does not fully answer: the challenged law has been on the books since 2011, yet it is only being contested now, in the middle of a heated election year. Critics see politics in that timing, while the plaintiffs insist the constitutional problem exists regardless of when it is raised.

A Law Built for Military Families

The law being challenged has bipartisan roots, and that is where the fight gets complicated. Nevada passed its Uniformed Military and Overseas Absentee Voters Act in 2011, when it was signed by Republican Governor Brian Sandoval and approved unanimously by both houses of the Legislature.

At the time, it was celebrated as a protection for military families. The measure ties into the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, and similar laws for never-resident overseas voters now exist in 37 other states. In other words, Nevada is far from an outlier, and this is not a rogue policy invented by one party.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, has defended the law and cast the lawsuit as harmful to those who serve. He called the challenge “an attack on the voting rights” of eligible citizens living abroad and their military families. Aguilar, who defeated Marchant in the 2022 secretary of state race and faces him again this November, argues that children should not lose access to the ballot simply because a parent served, worked, or was stationed overseas.

Where Integrity Meets Fairness

This is where the debate deserves an honest hearing from both sides. Supporters of the law raise a real concern. Military families sacrifice a great deal, and their children should not be treated as second-class citizens because a parent answered the call to serve abroad. That argument carries genuine moral weight, and it should not be brushed aside.

At the same time, the plaintiffs raise a real constitutional question. If a state constitution plainly requires residency, then allowing someone who has never lived in the state to vote there is worth examining, however sympathetic the beneficiaries may be. Sound election law should apply evenly, and good intentions do not rewrite the plain text of a constitution.

The scale of the issue is genuinely unclear, which makes careful reporting all the more important. Nevada’s Secretary of State office says it does not track how many non-resident overseas voters actually participate in the state’s elections. That means no one can say with confidence whether the law touches a few dozen ballots or many thousands. For comparison, a federal report found that nearly 250,000 overseas ballots were counted nationwide in 2024, only a fraction of which would fall under this specific rule.

Residency, Not Bloodline

Election integrity is not a partisan trophy to be claimed by one side. It is the shared assurance that the rules are followed, that every eligible voter is counted, and that ineligible ballots are not. Those principles protect every American, whether they lean right or left, and they are worth defending even when the honest answer is inconvenient for a preferred outcome.

At Million Voices, the commitment to election integrity has always rested on clean voter rolls, secure ballots, and transparent counting, applied without favoring any party. The Nevada case tests exactly that standard. It asks whether a well-meaning law can quietly stretch the definition of a voter beyond what the state constitution appears to allow.

However, the court rules, the lawsuit shines a light on a question most Americans have never stopped to consider. What makes someone a voter in a state, and can that status be handed down like a family heirloom? Nevada’s answer, and the court’s, may shape how other states handle the same question heading into the 2026 midterms and the elections that follow. For now, the residency line drawn in the state’s founding document is the one on trial.

As believers, we are called to pray for our leaders and our nation. Pray for wisdom for those making these decisions, and for safety and dignity for all people affected by them.

That’s where we come in.

Prayer is at the heart of how Million Voices connects faith with civic life. Our Prayer Guide: Pray for Our Government Officials By Name is a free resource designed to help individuals, families, and small groups lift up the men and women who serve in public office—across every level of government and regardless of party.

Rooted in the scriptural call to pray “for kings and all those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1–2), the guide offers a thoughtful framework for interceding on behalf of our leaders: for wisdom in their decisions, integrity in their conduct, protection for them and their families, and a heart for serving the common good.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your personal prayer life or to gather others in praying for our nation, this guide is a meaningful place to start. Download it here: https://millionvoices.org/mv-prayer-guide-pray-for-government-officials/

We also offer an opportunity to connect faith with action. Through our Write Now Campaign, volunteers send letters to low-propensity voters in key areas, helping inspire them to engage and make their voices heard.

Ready to take the next step? Learn more or sign up to get involved: https://millionvoices.org/volunteer/

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