Why Americans living abroad are a voting bloc with untapped political potential

American voters living abroad assembled in Toulouse, France, in January 2021 to pay tribute to Americans who died from COVID-19 and to support then-President-elect Biden ahead of his inauguration. (Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

After graduating high school in Georgia in 1969, Herbert Ruffin was drafted into the military to serve as an infantryman in Vietnam. A year later, he was badly wounded in a firefight. He was awarded the Purple Heart and went on to serve his country for more than two decades.

But when it came time to retire, Ruffin chose to continue living abroad.