> It's not reasonable to tell people "too bad," fly back to the US as much as 3 times per year.
Where are you having elections three times per year? If you’re living abroad, you shouldn’t be voting in local elections because you’re not a resident. You probably shouldn’t be voting in state elections either because you’re not a resident. So you have to come back every 4 years to vote in the presidential election, or go to a consulate to vote every 4 years.
The US. Primary, general, and in a number of states, you have to have a special election to replace the senator/representative that joined the new administration or quit or whatever. Actually, that causes 4 elections because you have a primary for that. [1]
>You probably shouldn’t be voting in state elections either because you’re not a resident.
That's a matter for the state, and many say if you still have a house, or intend to return, then you vote there.
> If you’re living abroad, you shouldn’t be voting in local elections because you’re not a resident.
And no, a number of states allow voting in that case even if you're not a resident [2]. For instance, you own a vacation home, you get to vote on property tax related matters concerning that house.
Where are you having elections three times per year? If you’re living abroad, you shouldn’t be voting in local elections because you’re not a resident. You probably shouldn’t be voting in state elections either because you’re not a resident. So you have to come back every 4 years to vote in the presidential election, or go to a consulate to vote every 4 years.