I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1739 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 

prohibit States from refusing to accept balloting materials solely because 

the materials are generated through the use of a computer program, 

are not printed on a specific type of paper, or do not otherwise meet 

similar extraneous requirements which are not clearly necessary to prevent fraud in the conduct of elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2009 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. GONZALEZ, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government 

Reform and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act to prohibit States from refusing to accept 

balloting materials solely because the materials are generated through the use of a computer program, are not 

printed on a specific type of paper, or do not otherwise 

meet similar extraneous requirements which are not 

clearly necessary to prevent fraud in the conduct of 

elections, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Overseas Voting Prac5 tical Amendments Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF OFFICIAL FEDERAL FORM AS 

7 FEDERAL VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSEN8 TEE BALLOT APPLICATION. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION AND DISTRIBUTION.—Section 101 

10 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘an official 

13 post card form’’ and inserting ‘‘an official Federal 

14 Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Applica15 tion’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘official 

17 post card forms’’ and inserting ‘‘official Federal 

18 Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Applica19 tions’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 

22 102(a)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)(4)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘the official post card form’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘the official Federal Voter Registra25 tion and Absentee Ballot Application’’. 


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1 (2) USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR ALL SUB2 SEQUENT ELECTIONS.—Section 104 of such Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 1973ff–3) is amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘an offi5 cial post card form’’ and inserting ‘‘an official 

6 Federal Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot 

7 Application’’; 

8 (B) in subsection (c)— 

9 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFI10 CIAL POST CARD FORM’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘OFFICIAL FEDERAL VOTER REGISTRA12 TION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA13 TION’’, and 

14 (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 

15 (1), by striking ‘‘official post card form’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘official Federal Voter Reg17 istration and Absentee Ballot Application’’; 

18 and 

19 (C) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘the 

20 postcard form’’ and inserting ‘‘the official Fed21 eral Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Ap22 plication’’. 

23 (3) DEFINITION OF BALLOTING MATERIALS.— 

24 Section 107(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(2)) 

25 is amended by striking ‘‘official post card forms’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘official Federal Voter Registration 

2 and Absentee Ballot Applications’’. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS, 

4 BALLOTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS FOR FAIL5 URE TO MEET NONESSENTIAL REQUIRE6 MENTS. 

7 (a) VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT

8 APPLICATIONS.—Section 102 of the Uniformed and Over9 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT APPLICA13 TIONS FOR FAILURE TO MEET NONESSENTIAL REQUIRE14 MENTS.—A State may not refuse to accept or process any 

15 otherwise valid voter registration application or absentee 

16 ballot application (including the official Federal Voter 

17 Registration and Absentee Ballot Application prescribed 

18 under section 101) submitted by an absent uniformed 

19 services voter or overseas voter on any of the following 

20 grounds: 

21 ‘‘(1) The application is not on a post card, is 

22 printed or otherwise produced through the use of a 

23 computer program or an Internet site, or is other24 wise a facsimile of an official application. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of the official Federal Voter 

2 Registration and Absentee Ballot Application pre3 scribed under section 101, the application does not 

4 include specific information included on applications 

5 produced by the State. 

6 ‘‘(3) The application, the envelope in which the 

7 application is submitted, or any affidavit or other at8 testation accompanying the application does not con9 form to specific requirements under State law re10 garding the size, shape, weight, or color of the paper 

11 on which it is produced. 

12 ‘‘(4) The application is not notarized or wit13 nessed by a Notary Public or other official author14 ized to administer oaths. 

15 ‘‘(5) The application is received by the State 

16 other than through delivery by the United States 

17 Postal Service. 

18 ‘‘(6) The application is returned with insuffi19 cient postage. 

20 ‘‘(7) The application, the envelope in which the 

21 application is submitted, or any affidavit or other at22 testation accompanying the application does not 

23 meet any other requirement which the Presidential 

24 designee determines (under regulations promulgated 


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1 by the Presidential designee) is not clearly necessary 

2 to prevent fraud in the conduct of elections.’’. 

3 (b) ABSENTEE BALLOTS.—Section 103 of such Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub6 section (g); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT BALLOT

10 FOR FAILURE TO MEET NONESSENTIAL REQUIRE11 MENTS.—A State may not refuse to accept or process any 

12 otherwise valid absentee ballot, including the Federal 

13 write-in absentee ballot, submitted by an absent uniformed 

14 services voter or overseas voter on any of the following 

15 grounds: 

16 ‘‘(1) The ballot as submitted is printed or oth17 erwise produced through the use of a computer pro18 gram or an Internet site or is otherwise a facsimile 

19 of the original ballot. 

20 ‘‘(2) The ballot, the envelope in which the ballot 

21 is submitted, or any affidavit or other attestation ac22 companying the ballot as submitted does not con23 form to specific requirements under State law re24 garding the size, shape, weight, or color of the paper 

25 on which it is produced. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The ballot is not notarized or witnessed by 

2 a Notary Public or other official authorized to ad3 minister oaths. 

4 ‘‘(4) The ballot is received by the State other 

5 than through delivery by the United States Postal 

6 Service. 

7 ‘‘(5) The ballot is returned with insufficient 

8 postage. 

9 ‘‘(6) The envelope in which the ballot is sub10 mitted bears a postmark from a location within the 

11 United States. 

12 ‘‘(7) The envelope in which the ballot is sub13 mitted does not bear a postmark, if the voter has 

14 signed and dated the ballot or the envelope in which 

15 the ballot is submitted. 

16 ‘‘(8) The ballot, the envelope in which the ballot 

17 is submitted, or any affidavit or other attestation ac18 companying the ballot as submitted does not meet 

19 any other requirement which the Presidential des20 ignee determines (under regulations promulgated by 

21 the Presidential designee) is not clearly necessary to 

22 prevent fraud in the conduct of elections.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON FORM OF DOCUMENTATION RE2 QUIRED FOR APPLICATIONS AND BALLOTS 

3 PRODUCED BY STATES. 

4 (a) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR VOTER REG5 ISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS.— 

6 Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab7 sentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1), as amended by 

8 section 3(a), is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT OF DOCUMENTA11 TION NOT AVAILABLE TO ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES

12 OR OVERSEAS VOTERS.—A State may not require an ab13 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter who sub14 mits a voter registration application or absentee ballot ap15 plication produced by the State to include with the appli16 cation any form of documentation which may be issued 

17 only to an individual who physically resides in the State 

18 (such as a current State motor vehicle operator’s license 

19 or a current utility bill).’’. 

20 (b) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR ABSENTEE

21 BALLOTS.—Section 103 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

22 2), as amended by section 3(b), is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub24 section (h); and 

25 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol26 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT OF DOCUMENTA2 TION NOT AVAILABLE TO ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES

3 OR OVERSEAS VOTERS.—A State may not require an ab4 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter who sub5 mits an absentee ballot produced by the State to include 

6 with the ballot any form of documentation which may be 

7 issued only to an individual who physically resides in the 

8 State (such as a current State motor vehicle operator’s 

9 license or a current utility bill).’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REQUIRING CLARIFICATION OF POSTAGE MARK11 INGS ON CERTAIN BALLOTING MATERIALS 

12 MAILED BY STATES. 

13 Section 3406 of title 39, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub16 section (c); and 

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol18 lowing new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(b) In the case of balloting materials under the Uni20 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act con21 sisting of pre-printed return envelopes which are prepared 

22 by a State for the submission of materials by an absent 

23 uniformed services voter or overseas voter under such 

24 Act— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the State shall ensure that the address to 

2 which the materials are to be submitted includes the 

3 designation ‘United States of America’ or ‘USA’; 

4 ‘‘(2) the State shall ensure that the materials 

5 state clearly the identity of the sender and the iden6 tity of the intended recipient; and 

7 ‘‘(3) if the materials are designated as postage 

8 paid, the State shall clarify whether the designation 

9 applies only to materials mailed within the United 

10 States or to materials mailed overseas through the 

11 Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. PROVISION OF BALLOTS IN SUBSEQUENT ELEC13 TIONS. 

14 (a) PERMITTING VOTERS TO REQUEST ABSENTEE

15 BALLOTS IN ALL SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS.—Section 

16 104(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

17 Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–3(a)) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘through the next 2 regularly scheduled general elec19 tions’’ and all that follows through ‘‘such general elec20 tions),’’ and inserting ‘‘(subject to subsections (b) and 

21 (d)),’’ 

22 (b) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE ABSEN23 TEE BALLOTS IN SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS TO INDIVID24 UALS WITH UNKNOWN ADDRESSES.—Section 104(a) of 

25 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–3(a)) is amended by striking 


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1 the period at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, other 

2 than any election occurring after any absentee ballot or 

3 other election material sent by the State to the voter is 

4 returned to the State as undeliverable or with no for5 warding address within the State or after the voter notifies 

6 the State that the voter is no longer an absent uniformed 

7 services voter or absentee voter.’’. 

8 (c) PERMITTING EARLY SUBMISSION OF REQUEST

9 BY OVERSEAS VOTERS; PERMITTING EARLY SUBMISSION

10 DURING PREVIOUS YEAR.—Section 104(e) of such Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–3(e)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘during a year’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘or an overseas voter’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘for that year’’. 

15 SEC. 7. SPECIAL RULES FOR USE OF FEDERAL WRITE-IN 

16 ABSENTEE BALLOT IN CERTAIN STATES. 

17 (a) TREATMENT OF VOTERS USING BALLOT TO

18 VOTE IN STATES WITH SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRA19 TION.—Section 103(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas 

20 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2(c)) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new para22 graph: 

23 ‘‘(4) If the voter submits the ballot (including 

24 the Federal write-in absentee ballot) in an election 

25 in a State in which voters may register to vote at 


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1 the polling place at the time of voting in an election 

2 for Federal office, the voter shall be deemed to have 

3 met the requirements for registering to vote in the 

4 State if the voter has signed the ballot and has pro5 vided the same information which is required on the 

6 official Federal Voter Registration and Absentee 

7 Ballot Application (prescribed under section 101) for 

8 simultaneous voter registration and absentee ballot 

9 application.’’. 

10 (b) USE OF BALLOT FOR STATE AND LOCAL ELEC11 TIONS IN CERTAIN STATES.—Section 103(a) of such Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: ‘‘In the case of a State in which voters may 

14 use a State absentee write-in ballot in elections for State 

15 and local office, the State shall permit a voter who uses 

16 the Federal write-in absentee ballot under this section to 

17 use such ballot in elections for State and local office, and 

18 the Presidential designee shall ensure that the Federal 

19 write-in absentee ballot is designed to accommodate the 

20 use of the ballot for this purpose.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF UOCAVA TO INDIVIDUALS NEVER 

2 RESIDING IN UNITED STATES WHOSE PAR3 ENTS ARE OVERSEAS VOTERS. 

4 Section 107(5)(C) of the Uniformed and Overseas 

5 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(5)(C)) 

6 is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(C) a person who resides outside the 

8 United States and (but for such residence) 

9 would be qualified to vote— 

10 ‘‘(i) in the last place in which the per11 son was domiciled before leaving the 

12 United States, or 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 

14 has never resided in the United States, in 

15 the last place in which the person’s parent 

16 or guardian was domiciled before leaving 

17 the United States or (if the parent or 

18 guardian is domiciled in the United States) 

19 the place in which the parent or guardian 

20 is domiciled;’’. 

21 SEC. 9. REQUIRING PROMPT NOTIFICATION OF REJECTION 

22 OF VOTER REGISTRATION OR ABSENTEE 

23 BALLOT REQUEST. 

24 Section 102(d) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi25 zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(d)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘shall provide’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

2 promptly provide’’. 

3 SEC. 10. USE OF DIPLOMATIC POUCH FOR RETURNING 

4 COMPLETED ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 

5 Section 101(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi6 zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(c)) is amend7 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(3) USE OF DIPLOMATIC POUCH FOR RETURN9 ING COMPLETED ABSENTEE BALLOTS.—If an over10 seas voter delivers a completed absentee ballot to an 

11 overseas facility of the Department of State, the 

12 Secretary of State shall use the diplomatic pouch to 

13 transmit the ballot to the United States, but only 

14 if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the ballot is delivered to the facility 

16 not earlier than 14 days prior to the date of the 

17 election involved; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of State determines 

19 that there is no effective alternative available at 

20 the location of the facility (including private 

21 courier services) for the overseas voter to use to 

22 ensure the timely receipt of the ballot.’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. GRANT PROGRAM FOR OUTREACH TO ABSENT UNI2 FORMED SERVICES VOTERS AND OVERSEAS 

3 VOTERS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—The Election As6 sistance Commission (hereafter referred to as the 

7 ‘‘Commission’’) shall establish and operate a pro8 gram for making grants to eligible organizations for 

9 carrying out activities to assist absent uniformed 

10 services voters and overseas voters in voting in elec11 tions for Federal office and to increase turnout 

12 among such voters by providing them with informa13 tion in advance of the date of an election on how to 

14 cast absentee ballots in such elections. 

15 (2) PERIOD OF GRANT.—Each grant awarded 

16 under the program under this section shall cover a 

17 2-year period. 

18 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF ORGANIZATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—An organization is eligible to 

20 receive a grant under the program under this section 

21 if the organization submits to the Commission, at 

22 such time and in such form as the Commission may 

23 require, an application containing information and 

24 assurances that the organization meets the specific 

25 requirements for eligibility described in paragraph 


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1 (2), together with such other information and assur2 ances as the Commission considers appropriate. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGI4 BILITY.—The specific requirements described in this 

5 paragraph are as follows: 

6 (A) The organization is nonpartisan in na7 ture and will carry out activities funded by the 

8 grant in a non partisan manner. 

9 (B) The organization will use the funds 

10 provided under the grant to carry out projects 

11 designed to increase the meaningful participa12 tion of absent uniformed services voters and 

13 overseas voters in elections for Federal office. 

14 (C) The organization will carry out 

15 projects that include at least one of the fol16 lowing activities: 

17 (i) Outreach and education to identify 

18 absent uniformed services voters and over19 seas voters and provide them with accurate 

20 information about voter registration and 

21 voting in elections for Federal office, and 

22 to provide the information well in advance 

23 of applicable State deadlines. 

24 (ii) Providing assistance to absent 

25 uniformed services voters and overseas votVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:44 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1739.IH H1739

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1 ers in registering to vote and casting bal2 lots in elections for Federal office, and to 

3 provide the assistance well in advance of 

4 applicable State deadlines. 

5 (iii) Protecting absentee ballots cast 

6 by absent uniformed services voters and 

7 overseas voters from incorrect disqualifica8 tion or rejection so that all such ballots 

9 which are properly cast are counted, by 

10 carrying out accountability oversight of 

11 State and local election officials and edu12 cating such officials of the requirements of 

13 Federal and State laws and regulations 

14 governing the treatment of these ballots, 

15 including the Uniformed and Overseas 

16 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 1973ff et seq.) and any applicable State 

18 and local laws. 

19 (D) The organization will file the reports 

20 required under subsection (d). 

21 (E) The organization will not compile the 

22 names of the absent uniformed services voters 

23 and overseas voters who participate in the 

24 projects funded with the grant for purposes of 


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1 a membership list, fundraising, or any commer2 cial purpose. 

3 (3) JOINT ELIGIBILITY OF MULTIPLE ORGANI4 ZATIONS.—Two or more organizations may be con5 sidered a single eligible organization for purposes of 

6 receiving a grant under the program under this sec7 tion, so long as each of them meet the specific re8 quirements for eligibility described in paragraph (2). 

9 (c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE OR10 GANIZATIONS.—In selecting among eligible organizations 

11 for making grants under the program under this section 

12 and in determining the amount of the grant awarded, the 

13 Commission shall take into consideration the following: 

14 (1) The need to ensure an appropriate distribu15 tion of participants among various geographic areas, 

16 based upon the most recent available data on the 

17 number and location of absent uniformed services 

18 voters and overseas voters. 

19 (2) The extent to which the organizations enter 

20 into partnerships and other collaborative agreements 

21 to carry out the projects involved. 

22 (3) The extent to which the organization’s ap23 proach to providing services under the projects re24 flects innovation and creativity, including the use of 

25 innovative technologies. 


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1 (4) In the case of voter education projects, the 

2 clarity of presentation and ease of use of the infor3 mation provided to voters. 

4 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (1) REPORTS.—Each eligible organization that 

6 receives a grant under the program under this sec7 tion shall submit to the Commission a report con8 taining the following information with respect to 

9 each year covered by the grant: 

10 (A) A description of the projects carried 

11 out with funds provided under the grant during 

12 the year (and arranged to be carried out during 

13 the succeeding year, in the case of a report with 

14 respect to an odd-numbered year). 

15 (B) The number of absent uniformed serv16 ices voters and overseas voters to whom out17 reach was provided under the projects. 

18 (C) The number of absent uniformed serv19 ices voters and overseas voters registered during 

20 the year under the projects. 

21 (D) In the case of a report filed with re22 spect to an odd-numbered year, the organiza23 tion’s target for the number of absent uni24 formed services voters and overseas voters to 

25 whom the organization will provide assistance 


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1 during the following year (including the target 

2 for the number of absentee ballots to be cast by 

3 such voters). 

4 (E) In the case of a report filed with re5 spect to an even-numbered year, the number of 

6 absent uniformed services voters and overseas 

7 voters to whom the organization provided as8 sistance during the year and the number of ab9 sentee ballots cast by such voters. 

10 (F) The organization’s analysis of the op11 portunities for replication of the projects. 

12 (G) The number of absentee ballots sub13 mitted by absent uniformed services voters and 

14 overseas voters which were not subject to un15 reasonable rejection or disqualification as a re16 sult of the projects. 

17 (2) DEADLINE.—The organization shall submit 

18 the report required under this subsection with re19 spect to a year not later than 90 days after the end 

20 of the year. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 (1) the term ‘‘absent uniformed services voter’’ 

23 has the meaning given such term in section 107(1) 

24 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

25 Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(1)); and 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘overseas voter’’ has the meaning 

2 given such term in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

3 section 107(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(5)). 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 (1) AMOUNT AUTHORIZED.—There are author6 ized to be appropriated for grants under the pro7 gram under this section an aggregate amount of 

8 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each of the 

9 first 4 succeeding 2-fiscal year periods. 

10 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur11 suant to the authorization under this subsection 

12 shall remain available until expended. 

13 SEC. 12. OTHER OUTREACH EFFORTS TO ENCOURAGE 

14 OVERSEAS CITIZENS TO CAST ABSENTEE 

15 BALLOTS IN ELECTIONS. 

16 (a) REQUIRING OFFICES WITH OVERSEAS PER17 SONNEL TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO

18 CAST ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each office of 

20 the Federal government that has employees whose 

21 designated post of duty is outside the United States 

22 shall provide such employees with notice of the 

23 rights provided to absent uniformed services voters 

24 and overseas voters under the Uniformed and Over25 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to submit voter 


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1 registration and absentee ballot requests and to sub2 mit absentee ballots (including the Federal write-in 

3 absentee ballot described in such Act). 

4 (2) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The head of an office 

5 shall provide the notice required under paragraph 

6 (1) not later than September 1 of each odd-num7 bered year and June 1 of each even-numbered year. 

8 (b) INCLUDING INFORMATION IN PASSPORTS.—The 

9 Secretary of State shall ensure that each passport issued 

10 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act includes 

11 a page describing the rights provided to overseas voters 

12 under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Vot13 ing Act to submit voter registration and absentee ballot 

14 requests and to submit absentee ballots (including the 

15 Federal write-in absentee ballot described in such Act), 

16 and shall include on the page a list of resources through 

17 which individuals may obtain additional information re18 garding such rights. 

19 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 

20 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Presidential designee under the Uni22 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act shall 

23 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

24 out the amendments made to such Act by this Act, includ25 ing regulations to redesign and rename the Federal Voter 


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1 Registration and Absentee Ballot Application under sec2 tion 101 of such Act to reflect the amendments made by 

3 section 2 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 14. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING INTERNET 

5 VOTING. 

6 Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 

7 this Act may be construed to authorize the Presidential 

8 designee under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab9 sentee Voting Act or any State or local election official 

10 to require or authorize any absent uniformed services 

11 voter or overseas voter under such Act or any other indi12 vidual to use the Internet to cast a ballot in any election 

13 for public office. 

14 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

16 respect to elections occurring on or after the expiration 

17 of the 120-day period which begins on the date of the en18 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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