II 

Calendar No. 355 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1728 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 

improve ballot accessibility to uniformed services voters and overseas 

voters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2013 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. WARNER, Mr. 

WICKER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. KING, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. 

PORTMAN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. WALSH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. PRYOR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

APRIL 10, 2014 

Reported by Mr. SCHUMER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act to improve ballot accessibility to uniformed 

services voters and overseas voters, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Elections 

3 for our Nation’s Troops through Reforms and Improve4 ments (SENTRI) Act’’. 

5 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS RE6 LATED TO THE UNIFORMED 

7 AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS AB8 SENTEE VOTING ACT 

9 SEC. 101. PRE-ELECTION REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON 

10 TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 102 of 

12 the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later 

14 than 90 days’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

16 BALLOTS TRANSMITTED.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 43 

18 days before any election for Federal office held 

19 in a State, the chief State election official of 

20 such State shall submit a report to the Attor21 ney General and the Presidential designee, and 

22 make that report publicly available that same 

23 day, confirming— 

24 ‘‘(i) the number of absentee ballots 

25 validly requested by absent uniformed serv26 ices voters and overseas voters whose reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:16 Apr 10, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1728.RS S1728

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1 quests were received by the 46th day be2 fore the election, and 

3 ‘‘(ii) whether those ballots were timely 

4 transmitted. 

5 ‘‘(B) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The 

6 report under subparagraph (A) shall include the 

7 following information: 

8 ‘‘(i) Specific information about ballot 

9 transmission, including the total numbers 

10 of ballot requests received from such voters 

11 and ballots transmitted to such voters by 

12 the 46th day before the election from each 

13 unit of local government that will admin14 ister the election. 

15 ‘‘(ii) If the chief State election official 

16 has incomplete information on any items 

17 required to be included in the report, an 

18 explanation of what information is incom19 plete information and efforts made to ac20 quire such information. 

21 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT TO SUPPLEMENT IN22 COMPLETE INFORMATION.—If the report under 

23 subparagraph (A) has incomplete information 

24 on any items required to be included in the re25 port, the chief State election official shall make 


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1 all reasonable efforts to expeditiously supple2 ment the report with complete information. 

3 ‘‘(D) FORMAT.—The report under sub4 paragraph (A) shall be in a format prescribed 

5 by the Attorney General in consultation with 

6 the chief State election officials of each State. 

7 ‘‘(2) POST ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF

8 ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE9 CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

11 subsection (c) of section 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1973ff–1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘REPORT ON NUM13 BER OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE14 CEIVED’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORTS ON ABSENTEE BAL15 LOTS’’. 

16 SEC. 102. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF 

17 WAIVER PROVISION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) 

19 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)) is amended to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(8) transmit a validly requested absentee bal23 lot to an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 

24 voter by the date and in the manner determined 

25 under subsection (g);’’. 


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1 (b) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND

2 REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.—Subsection (g) of sec3 tion 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(g)) is amended 

4 to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(g) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

7 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

8 absentee ballot is received at least 46 days before an 

9 election for Federal office, the following rules shall 

10 apply: 

11 ‘‘(A) TRANSMISSION DEADLINE.—The 

12 State shall transmit the absentee ballot not 

13 later than 46 days before the election. 

14 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES IN CASE OF FAILURE

15 TO TRANSMIT ON TIME.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the State fails 

17 to transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th 

18 day before the election as required by sub19 paragraph (A) and the absent uniformed 

20 services voter or overseas voter did not re21 quest electronic ballot transmission pursu22 ant to subsection (f), the State shall trans23 mit such ballot by express delivery. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EXTENDED FAILURE.—If the 

25 State fails to transmit any absentee ballot 


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1 by the 41st day before the election, in ad2 dition to transmitting the ballot as pro3 vided in clause (i), the State shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) in the case of absentee bal5 lots requested by absent uniformed 

6 services voters with respect to regu7 larly scheduled general elections, no8 tify such voters of the procedures es9 tablished under section 103A for the 

10 collection and delivery of marked ab11 sentee ballots; and 

12 ‘‘(II) in any other case, provide 

13 for the return of such ballot by ex14 press delivery. 

15 ‘‘(iii) COST OF EXPRESS DELIVERY.— 

16 In any case in which express delivery is re17 quired under this subparagraph, the cost 

18 of such express delivery— 

19 ‘‘(I) shall not be paid by the 

20 voter, and 

21 ‘‘(II) may be required by the 

22 State to be paid by a local jurisdiction 

23 if the State determines that election 

24 officials in such jurisdiction are re25 sponsible for the failure to transmit 


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1 the ballot by any date required under 

2 this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(iv) ENFORCEMENT.—A State’s com4 pliance with this subparagraph does not 

5 bar the Attorney General from seeking ad6 ditional remedies necessary to effectuate 

7 the purposes of this Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 46TH DAY

9 BEFORE ELECTION.—For purposes of subsection 

10 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

11 absentee ballot is received less than 46 days but not 

12 less than 30 days before an election for Federal of13 fice, the State shall transmit the absentee ballot not 

14 later than 3 business days after such request is re15 ceived.’’. 

16 SEC. 103. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS TO CONFORM TO 

17 2009 MOVE ACT AMENDMENTS RELATED TO 

18 THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(a)(3) of the Uni20 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘general 

22 elections’’ and inserting ‘‘general, special, primary, and 

23 runoff elections’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of 

25 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘gen2 eral’’, and 

3 (2) in the heading thereof, by striking ‘‘GEN4 ERAL’’. 

5 SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS. 

6 (a) APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF

7 APPLICATIONS ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION TO

8 OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 

9 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

10 3) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘or overseas voter’’ after ‘‘sub12 mitted by an absent uniformed services voter’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘members of the uniformed 

14 services’’ and inserting ‘‘absent uniformed services 

15 voters or overseas voters’’. 

16 (b) USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT

17 ELECTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uni19 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–3) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS

24 ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State’’, and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsections: 

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION TREATED AS VALID FOR SUBSE4 QUENT ELECTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and 

6 processes a request for an absentee ballot by an ab7 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter and 

8 the voter requests that the application be considered 

9 an application for an absentee ballot for each subse10 quent election for Federal office held in the State 

11 through the next regularly scheduled general election 

12 for Federal office (including any runoff elections 

13 which may occur as a result of the outcome of such 

14 general election) and any special elections for Fed15 eral office held in the State through the calendar 

16 year following such general election, the State shall 

17 provide an absentee ballot to the voter for each such 

18 subsequent election. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

20 apply with respect to either of the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) VOTERS CHANGING REGISTRATION.— 

22 A voter removed from the list of official eligible 

23 voters in accordance with subparagraph (A), 

24 (B), or (C) of section 8(a)(3) of the National 


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1 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 

2 1973gg–6(a)). 

3 ‘‘(B) UNDELIVERABLE BALLOTS.—A voter 

4 whose ballot is returned by mail to the State or 

5 local election officials as undeliverable or, in the 

6 case of a ballot delivered electronically, if the 

7 email sent to the voter was undeliverable or re8 jected due to an invalid email address.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

10 of section 104 of such Act is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS

12 ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION’’ and in13 serting ‘‘TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS’’. 

14 (3) REVISION TO POSTCARD FORM.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential des16 ignee shall ensure that the official postcard 

17 form prescribed under section 101(b)(2) of the 

18 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Vot19 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(2)) enables a 

20 voter using the form to— 

21 (i) request an absentee ballot for each 

22 election for Federal office held in a State 

23 through the next regularly scheduled gen24 eral election for Federal office (including 

25 any runoff elections which may occur as a 


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1 result of the outcome of such general elec2 tion) and any special elections for Federal 

3 office held in the State through the cal4 endar year following such general election; 

5 or 

6 (ii) request an absentee ballot for a 

7 specific election or elections for Federal of8 fice held in a State during the period de9 scribed in paragraph (1). 

10 (B) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—For pur11 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘‘Presidential 

12 designee’’ means the individual designated 

13 under section 101(a) of the Uniformed and 

14 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1973ff(a)). 

16 SEC. 105. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE 

17 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

18 Paragraphs (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uni19 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(6)) are each amended by striking ‘‘and 

21 American Samoa’’ and inserting ‘‘American Samoa, and 

22 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. BIENNIAL REPORT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

2 ACTIVITIES OF THE FEDERAL VOTING AS3 SISTANCE PROGRAM AND COMPTROLLER 

4 GENERAL REVIEW. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105A(b) of the Uniformed 

6 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1973ff–4a(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘March 31 of each year’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘June 30 of each odd-numbered 

11 year’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘the following information’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘the following information with 

14 respect to the Federal elections held during the 

15 2 preceding calendar years’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘separate as17 sessment’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sepa18 rate assessment and statistical analysis’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘section 1566a’’ in the 

21 matter preceding subparagraph (A) and insert22 ing ‘‘sections 1566a and 1566b’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘such section’’ each place 

24 it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B) and 

25 inserting ‘‘such sections’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(C) The number of completed official 

4 postcard forms prescribed under section 

5 101(b)(2) that were completed by absent uni6 formed services members and accepted and 

7 transmitted. 

8 ‘‘(D) The number of absent uniformed 

9 services members who declined to register to 

10 vote under such sections.’’. 

11 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEWS.—Section 

12 105A of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

13 Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–4a) is amended by redesig14 nating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and by inserting 

15 after subsection (b) the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEWS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General 

19 shall conduct a review of any reports submitted 

20 by the Presidential designee under subsection 

21 (b) with respect to elections occurring in cal22 endar years 2014 through 2020. 

23 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after a report is submitted by the Presidential 

25 designee under subsection (b), the Comptroller 


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1 General shall submit to the relevant committees 

2 of Congress a report containing the results of 

3 the review conducted under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) MATTERS REVIEWED.—A review conducted 

5 under paragraph (1) shall assess— 

6 ‘‘(A) the methodology used by the Presi7 dential designee to prepare the report and to 

8 develop the data presented in the report, includ9 ing the approach for designing, implementing, 

10 and analyzing the results of any surveys, 

11 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of any voting assist12 ance covered in the report provided under sub13 section (b) and provided by the Presidential 

14 designee to absent overseas uniformed services 

15 voters and overseas voters who are not members 

16 of the uniformed services, including an assess17 ment of— 

18 ‘‘(i) any steps taken toward improving 

19 the implementation of such voting assist20 ance; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the extent of collaboration be22 tween the Presidential designee and the 

23 States in providing such voting assistance; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) any other information the Comp2 troller General considers relevant to the re3 view.’’. 

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) Section 101(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 1973ff(b)) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (6); and 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) 

9 through (11) as paragraphs (6) through (10), 

10 respectively. 

11 (2) Section 102(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1973ff–1(a)) is amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking 

14 ‘‘101(b)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘101(b)(6)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking 

16 ‘‘101(b)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘101(b)(10)’’. 

17 (3) Section 105A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 1973ff–4a(b)) is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT’’ in the 

20 subsection heading and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL

21 REPORT’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘In the case of’’ in para23 graph (3) and all that follows through ‘‘a de24 scription’’ and inserting ‘‘A description’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

3 respect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed4 eral office held in November 2014 and each succeeding 

5 election for Federal office. 

6 TITLE II—PROVISION OF VOTER 

7 ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF 

8 THE ARMED FORCES 

9 SEC. 201. PROVISION OF ANNUAL VOTER ASSISTANCE. 

10 (a) ANNUAL VOTER ASSISTANCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 80 of title 10, 

12 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

13 section 1566a the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 1566b. Annual voter assistance 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

16 carry out the following activities: 

17 ‘‘(1) In coordination with the Secretary of each 

18 military department— 

19 ‘‘(A) affirmatively offer, on an annual 

20 basis, each member of the armed forces on ac21 tive duty (other than active duty for training) 

22 the opportunity, through the online system de23 veloped under paragraph (2), to— 

24 ‘‘(i) register to vote in an election for 

25 Federal office; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) update the member’s voter reg2 istration information; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) request an absentee ballot; 

4 ‘‘(B) provide services to such members for 

5 the purpose of carrying out the activities in 

6 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A); 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) require any such member who de9 clines the offer for voter assistance under sub10 paragraph (A) to indicate and record that deci11 sion. 

12 ‘‘(2) Implement an online system that, to the 

13 extent practicable, is integrated with the existing 

14 systems of each of the military departments and 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) provides an electronic means for car17 rying out the requirements of paragraph (1); 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual reg19 istering to vote in a State that accepts elec20 tronic voter registration and operates its own 

21 electronic voter registration system using a 

22 form that meets the requirements for mail voter 

23 registration forms under section 9(b) of the Na24 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 1973gg–7(b)), directs such individual to 

2 that system; and 

3 ‘‘(C) in the case of an individual using the 

4 official postcard form prescribed under section 

5 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi6 zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1973ff(b)(2)) to register to vote and request an 

8 absentee ballot— 

9 ‘‘(i) pre-populates such official post10 card form with the personal information of 

11 such individual, and 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) produces the pre-populated 

13 form and a pre-addressed envelope for use 

14 in transmitting such official postcard form; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(II) transmits the completed official 

17 postcard form electronically to the appro18 priate State or local election officials. 

19 ‘‘(3) Implement a system (either independently 

20 or in conjunction with the online system under para21 graph (2)) by which any change of address by a 

22 member of the armed forces on active duty who is 

23 undergoing a permanent change of station, deploying 

24 overseas for at least six months, or returning from 

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1 matically triggers, through the Defense Enrollment 

2 and Eligibility Registration System or related sys3 tems, a notification via electronic means to such 

4 member that— 

5 ‘‘(A) indicates that such member’s voter 

6 registration or absentee mailing address should 

7 be updated with the appropriate State or local 

8 election officials; and 

9 ‘‘(B) includes instructions on how to up10 date such voter registration using the online 

11 system developed under paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The online system devel13 oped under subsection (a)(2) shall collect and store all 

14 data required to meet the reporting requirements of sec15 tion 201(b) of the Safeguarding Elections for our Nation’s 

16 Troops through Reforms and Improvements (SENTRI) 

17 Act and section 105A(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Over18 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

19 4a(b)(2)) in a manner that complies with section 552a of 

20 title 5, United States Code, (commonly known as the Pri21 vacy Act of 1974) and imposes no new record management 

22 burden on any military unit or military installation. 

23 ‘‘(c) TIMING OF VOTER ASSISTANCE.—To the extent 

24 practicable, the voter assistance under subsection (a)(1) 


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1 shall be offered as a part of each servicemember’s annual 

2 training. 

3 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of De5 fense shall prescribe regulations implementing the require6 ments of subsection (a). Such regulations shall include 

7 procedures to inform those members of the armed forces 

8 on active duty (other than active duty for training) experi9 encing a change of address about the benefits of this sec10 tion and the timeframe for requesting an absentee ballot 

11 to ensure sufficient time for State delivery of the ballot.’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions at the beginning of chapter 80 of such title is 

14 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 1566a the following new item: 

‘‘1566b. Annual voter assistance.’’. 

16 (b) REPORT ON STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Defense shall submit to the relevant com20 mittees of Congress a report on the status of the im21 plementation of the requirements of section 1566b of 

22 title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection 

23 (a)(1). 

24 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

25 (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) a detailed description of any specific 

2 steps already taken towards the implementation 

3 of the requirements of such section 1566b; 

4 (B) a detailed plan for the implementation 

5 of such requirements, including milestones and 

6 deadlines for the completion of such implemen7 tation; 

8 (C) the costs expected to be incurred in the 

9 implementation of such requirements; 

10 (D) a description of how the annual voting 

11 assistance and system under subsection (a)(3) 

12 of such section will be integrated with the De13 fense Enrollment and Eligibility Registration 

14 System or other Department of Defense per15 sonnel databases that track military 

16 servicemembers’ address changes; 

17 (E) an estimate of how long it will take an 

18 average member to complete the voter assist19 ance process required under subsection (a)(1) 

20 of such section; 

21 (F) an explanation of how the Secretary of 

22 Defense will collect reliable data on the utiliza23 tion of the online system under subsection 

24 (a)(2) of such section; and 


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1 (G) a summary of any objections, con2 cerns, or comments made by State or local elec3 tion officials regarding the implementation of 

4 such section. 

5 (3) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE6 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant com7 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committees on Appropriations, 

9 Armed Services, and Rules and Administration 

10 of the Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committees on Appropriations, 

12 Armed Services, and House Administration of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 TITLE III—ELECTRONIC VOTING 

15 SYSTEMS 

16 SEC. 301. REPEAL OF ELECTRONIC VOTING DEMONSTRA17 TION PROJECT. 

18 Section 1604 of the National Defense Authorization 

19 Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff note) is re20 pealed. 


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1 TITLE IV—RESIDENCY OF 

2 MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS 

3 SEC. 401. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR 

4 VOTING PURPOSES TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF 

5 ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 705 of 

7 the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘a person who is absent from a 

10 State because the person is accompanying the 

11 persons’s spouse who is absent from that same State 

12 in compliance with military or naval orders shall not, 

13 solely by reason of that absence’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

14 dependent of a person who is absent from a State 

15 in compliance with military orders shall not, solely 

16 by reason of absence, whether or not accompanying 

17 that person’’; and 

18 (2) in the heading by striking ‘‘SPOUSES’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘DEPENDENTS’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading of sec21 tion 705 of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘SPOUSES’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPENDENTS’’. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall apply with respect to absences from 

25 States described in section 705(b) of the Servicemembers 


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1 Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595(b)), as amended by 

2 subsection (a), after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 regardless of the date of the military orders concerned. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Elections 

6 for our Nation’s Troops through Reforms and Improvements 

7 (SENTRI) Act’’. 

8 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS RE9 LATED TO THE UNIFORMED 

10 AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS AB11 SENTEE VOTING ACT 

12 SEC. 101. PRE-ELECTION REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON 

13 TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 102 of the 

15 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later than 

17 90 days’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE BAL19 LOTS TRANSMITTED.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 43 days 

21 before any election for Federal office held in a 

22 State, the chief State election official of such 

23 State shall submit a report containing the infor24 mation in subparagraph (B) to the Attorney 


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1 General and the Presidential designee, and make 

2 that report publicly available that same day. 

3 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION REPORTED.—The report 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall consist of the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i) The total number of absentee bal7 lots validly requested by absent uniformed 

8 services voters and overseas voters whose re9 quests were received by the 47th day before 

10 the election. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The total number of ballots trans12 mitted to such voters by the 46th day before 

13 the election by each unit of local government 

14 within the State that will administer the 

15 election. 

16 ‘‘(iii) If the chief State election official 

17 has incomplete information on any items 

18 required to be included in the report, an ex19 planation of what information is incom20 plete information and efforts made to ac21 quire such information, including the iden22 tity of any unit of local government that 

23 failed to provide required information to the 

24 State. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT TO SUPPLEMENT IN2 COMPLETE INFORMATION.—If the report under 

3 subparagraph (A) has incomplete information on 

4 any items required to be included in the report, 

5 the chief State election official shall make all 

6 reasonable efforts to expeditiously supplement the 

7 report with complete information. 

8 ‘‘(D) FORMAT.—The report under subpara9 graph (A) shall be in a format prescribed by the 

10 Attorney General in consultation with the chief 

11 State election officials of each State. 

12 ‘‘(2) POST ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF

13 ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RECEIVED.— 

14 Not later than 90 days’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for sub16 section (c) of section 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

17 1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘REPORT ON NUMBER OF AB18 SENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RECEIVED’’ and in19 serting ‘‘REPORTS ON ABSENTEE BALLOTS’’. 

20 SEC. 102. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF 

21 WAIVER PROVISION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) of 

23 the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(8) transmit a validly requested absentee ballot 

2 to an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter 

3 by the date and in the manner determined under sub4 section (g);’’. 

5 (b) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND RE6 PEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.—Subsection (g) of section 

7 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(g)) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(g) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

11 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an ab12 sentee ballot is received at least 47 days before an 

13 election for Federal office, the following rules shall 

14 apply: 

15 ‘‘(A) TRANSMISSION DEADLINE.—The State 

16 shall transmit the absentee ballot not later than 

17 46 days before the election. 

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES IN CASE OF FAILURE

19 TO TRANSMIT ON TIME.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the State fails to 

21 transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th 

22 day before the election as required by sub23 paragraph (A) and the absent uniformed 

24 services voter or overseas voter did not re25 quest electronic ballot transmission pursuVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:16 Apr 10, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1728.RS S1728

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1 ant to subsection (f), the State shall trans2 mit such ballot by express delivery. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXTENDED FAILURE.—If the 

4 State fails to transmit any absentee ballot 

5 by the 41st day before the election, in addi6 tion to transmitting the ballot as provided 

7 in clause (i), the State shall— 

8 ‘‘(I) in the case of absentee ballots 

9 requested by absent uniformed services 

10 voters with respect to regularly sched11 uled general elections, notify such vot12 ers of the procedures established under 

13 section 103A for the collection and de14 livery of marked absentee ballots; and 

15 ‘‘(II) in any other case, provide 

16 for the return of such ballot by express 

17 delivery. 

18 ‘‘(iii) COST OF EXPRESS DELIVERY.— 

19 In any case in which express delivery is re20 quired under this subparagraph, the cost of 

21 such express delivery— 

22 ‘‘(I) shall not be paid by the voter, 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) may be required by the 

25 State to be paid by a local jurisdiction 


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1 if the State determines that election of2 ficials in such jurisdiction are respon3 sible for the failure to transmit the bal4 lot by any date required under this 

5 paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION.—Clause (ii)(II) 

7 shall not apply when an absent uniformed 

8 services voter or overseas voter indicates the 

9 preference to return the late sent absentee 

10 ballot by electronic transmission in a State 

11 that permits return of an absentee ballot by 

12 electronic transmission. 

13 ‘‘(v) ENFORCEMENT.—A State’s com14 pliance with this subparagraph does not bar 

15 the Attorney General from seeking addi16 tional remedies necessary to fully resolve or 

17 prevent ongoing, future, or systematic viola18 tions of this provision. 

19 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL PROCEDURE IN EVENT OF

20 DISASTER.—If a disaster (hurricane, tornado, 

21 earthquake, storm, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

22 fire, flood, or explosion), or an act of terrorism 

23 prevents the State from transmitting any absen24 tee ballot by the 46th day before the election as 

25 required by subparagraph (A), it shall notify the 


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1 Attorney General as soon as practicable and take 

2 all actions necessary, including seeking any nec3 essary judicial relief, to ensure that affected ab4 sent uniformed services voters and overseas voters 

5 are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive 

6 and return their absentee ballots in time to be 

7 counted. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 47TH DAY BE9 FORE ELECTION.—For purposes of subsection (a)(8), 

10 in the case in which a valid request for an absentee 

11 ballot is received less than 47 days but not less than 

12 30 days before an election for Federal office, the State 

13 shall transmit the absentee ballot not later than 3 

14 business days after such request is received.’’. 

15 SEC. 103. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS TO CONFORM TO 

16 2009 MOVE ACT AMENDMENTS RELATED TO 

17 THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(a)(3) of the Uniformed 

19 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 1973ff–1(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘general elections’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘general, special, primary, and runoff elec22 tions’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of such 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘gen2 eral’’, and 

3 (2) in the heading thereof, by striking ‘‘GEN4 ERAL’’. 

5 SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF POST CARD REGISTRATION RE6 QUESTS. 

7 Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

8 Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF POST CARD REGISTRATIONS.—A 

11 State shall not remove any voter who has registered to vote 

12 using the official post card form (prescribed under section 

13 101) except in accordance with subparagraph (A), (B), or 

14 (C) of section 8(a)(3) of the National Voter Registration Act 

15 of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(a)).’’. 

16 SEC. 105. TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS. 

17 (a) APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF

18 APPLICATIONS ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION TO

19 OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 

20 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

21 3) is amended— 

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘or overseas voter’’ after ‘‘sub23 mitted by an absent uniformed services voter’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘members of the uniformed serv2 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘absent uniformed services voters 

3 or overseas voters’’. 

4 (b) USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT

5 ELECTIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uniformed 

7 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1973ff–3) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS ON

12 GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State’’, and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsections: 

15 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION TREATED AS VALID FOR SUBSE16 QUENT ELECTIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and proc18 esses a request for an absentee ballot by an absent 

19 uniformed services voter or overseas voter and the 

20 voter requests that the application be considered an 

21 application for an absentee ballot for each subsequent 

22 election for Federal office held in the State through 

23 the next regularly scheduled general election for Fed24 eral office (including any runoff elections which may 

25 occur as a result of the outcome of such general elecVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:16 Apr 10, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1728.RS S1728

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1 tion), the State shall provide an absentee ballot to the 

2 voter for each such subsequent election. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

4 apply with respect to either of the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) VOTERS CHANGING REGISTRATION.—A 

6 voter removed from the list of official eligible vot7 ers in accordance with subparagraph (A), (B), or 

8 (C) of section 8(a)(3) of the National Voter Reg9 istration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(a)). 

10 ‘‘(B) UNDELIVERABLE BALLOTS.—A voter 

11 whose ballot is returned by mail to the State or 

12 local election officials as undeliverable or, in the 

13 case of a ballot delivered electronically, if the 

14 email sent to the voter was undeliverable or re15 jected due to an invalid email address.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

17 section 104 of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘PRO18 HIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS ON

19 GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS’’. 

21 (3) REVISION TO POSTCARD FORM.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential des23 ignee shall ensure that the official postcard form 

24 prescribed under section 101(b)(2) of the Uni25 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 


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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(2)) enables a voter 

2 using the form to— 

3 (i) request an absentee ballot for each 

4 election for Federal office held in a State 

5 through the next regularly scheduled general 

6 election for Federal office (including any 

7 runoff elections which may occur as a result 

8 of the outcome of such general election); or 

9 (ii) request an absentee ballot for a 

10 specific election or elections for Federal of11 fice held in a State during the period de12 scribed in paragraph (1). 

13 (B) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—For pur14 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘‘Presidential 

15 designee’’ means the individual designated under 

16 section 101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas 

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

18 1973ff(a)). 

19 SEC. 106. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE 

20 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

21 Paragraphs (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uni22 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(6)) are each amended by striking ‘‘and 

24 American Samoa’’ and inserting ‘‘American Samoa, and 

25 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. BIENNIAL REPORT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

2 ACTIVITIES OF THE FEDERAL VOTING ASSIST3 ANCE PROGRAM AND COMPTROLLER GEN4 ERAL REVIEW. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105A(b) of the Uniformed 

6 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1973ff–4a(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘March 31 of each year’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘June 30 of each odd-numbered 

11 year’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘the following information’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘the following information with 

14 respect to the Federal elections held during the 2 

15 preceding calendar years’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘separate as17 sessment’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sepa18 rate assessment and statistical analysis’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘section 1566a’’ in the mat21 ter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting 

22 ‘‘sections 1566a and 1566b’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘such section’’ each place it 

24 appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B) and in25 serting ‘‘such sections’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(C) The number of completed official post4 card forms prescribed under section 101(b)(2) 

5 that were completed by absent uniformed services 

6 members and accepted and transmitted. 

7 ‘‘(D) The number of absent uniformed serv8 ices members who declined to register to vote 

9 under such sections.’’. 

10 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEWS.—Section 105A 

11 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–4a) is amended by redesignating sub13 section (c) as subsection (d) and by inserting after sub14 section (b) the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEWS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General 

18 shall conduct a review of any reports submitted 

19 by the Presidential designee under subsection (b) 

20 with respect to elections occurring in calendar 

21 years 2014 through 2020. 

22 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after a report is submitted by the Presidential 

24 designee under subsection (b), the Comptroller 

25 General shall submit to the relevant committees 


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1 of Congress a report containing the results of the 

2 review conducted under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(2) MATTERS REVIEWED.—A review conducted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall assess— 

5 ‘‘(A) the methodology used by the Presi6 dential designee to prepare the report and to de7 velop the data presented in the report, including 

8 the approach for designing, implementing, and 

9 analyzing the results of any surveys, 

10 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of any voting assist11 ance covered in the report provided under sub12 section (b) and provided by the Presidential des13 ignee to absent overseas uniformed services voters 

14 and overseas voters who are not members of the 

15 uniformed services, including an assessment of— 

16 ‘‘(i) any steps taken toward improving 

17 the implementation of such voting assist18 ance; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the extent of collaboration between 

20 the Presidential designee and the States in 

21 providing such voting assistance; and 

22 ‘‘(C) any other information the Comptroller 

23 General considers relevant to the review.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 101(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 1973ff(b)) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking paragraph (6); and 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) 

5 through (11) as paragraphs (6) through (10), re6 spectively. 

7 (2) Section 102(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1973ff–1(a)) is amended— 

9 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking 

10 ‘‘101(b)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘101(b)(6)’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking 

12 ‘‘101(b)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘101(b)(10)’’. 

13 (3) Section 105A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 1973ff–4a(b)) is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT’’ in the 

16 subsection heading and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL RE17 PORT’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘In the case of’’ in para19 graph (3) and all that follows through ‘‘a de20 scription’’ and inserting ‘‘A description’’. 

21 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

22 section shall apply to reports required to be issued after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 108. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 Except as provided in section 107(d), the amendments 

3 made by this title shall take effect on January 1, 2015. 

4 TITLE II—PROVISION OF VOTER 

5 ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF 

6 THE ARMED FORCES 

7 SEC. 201. PROVISION OF ANNUAL VOTER ASSISTANCE. 

8 (a) ANNUAL VOTER ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 80 of title 10, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

11 1566a the following new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 1566b. Annual voter assistance 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

14 carry out the following activities: 

15 ‘‘(1) In coordination with the Secretary of each 

16 military department— 

17 ‘‘(A) affirmatively offer, on an annual 

18 basis, each member of the armed forces on active 

19 duty (other than active duty for training) the 

20 opportunity, through the online system developed 

21 under paragraph (2), to— 

22 ‘‘(i) register to vote in an election for 

23 Federal office; 

24 ‘‘(ii) update the member’s voter reg25 istration information; or 

26 ‘‘(iii) request an absentee ballot; 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide services to such members for 

2 the purpose of carrying out the activities in 

3 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(C) require any such member who declines 

6 the offer for voter assistance under subparagraph 

7 (A) to indicate and record that decision. 

8 ‘‘(2) Implement an online system that, to the ex9 tent practicable, is integrated with the existing sys10 tems of each of the military departments and that— 

11 ‘‘(A) provides an electronic means for car12 rying out the requirements of paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual registering 

14 to vote in a State that accepts electronic voter 

15 registration and operates its own electronic voter 

16 registration system using a form that meets the 

17 requirements for mail voter registration forms 

18 under section 9(b) of the National Voter Reg19 istration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–7(b)), 

20 directs such individual to that system; and 

21 ‘‘(C) in the case of an individual using the 

22 official postcard form prescribed under section 

23 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi24 zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1973ff(b)(2)) to register to vote and request an 

2 absentee ballot— 

3 ‘‘(i) pre-populates such official post4 card form with the personal information of 

5 such individual, and 

6 ‘‘(ii)(I) produces the pre-populated 

7 form and a pre-addressed envelope for use 

8 in transmitting such official postcard form; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(II) transmits the completed official 

11 postcard form electronically to the appro12 priate State or local election officials. 

13 ‘‘(3) Implement a system (either independently 

14 or in conjunction with the online system under para15 graph (2)) by which any change of address by a mem16 ber of the armed forces on active duty who is under17 going a permanent change of station, deploying over18 seas for at least six months, or returning from an 

19 overseas deployment of at least six months automati20 cally triggers a notification via electronic means to 

21 such member that— 

22 ‘‘(A) indicates that such member’s voter reg23 istration or absentee mailing address should be 

24 updated with the appropriate State or local elec25 tion officials; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes instructions on how to update 

2 such voter registration using the online system 

3 developed under paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The online system developed 

5 under subsection (a)(2) shall collect and store all data re6 quired to meet the reporting requirements of section 201(b) 

7 of the Safeguarding Elections for our Nation’s Troops 

8 through Reforms and Improvements (SENTRI) Act and 

9 section 105A(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

10 Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–4a(b)(2)) in a man11 ner that complies with section 552a of title 5, United States 

12 Code, (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974) and 

13 imposes no new record management burden on any mili14 tary unit or military installation. 

15 ‘‘(c) TIMING OF VOTER ASSISTANCE.—To the extent 

16 practicable, the voter assistance under subsection (a)(1) 

17 shall be offered as a part of each servicemember’s annual 

18 training. 

19 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of De21 fense shall prescribe regulations implementing the require22 ments of subsection (a). Such regulations shall include pro23 cedures to inform those members of the armed forces on ac24 tive duty (other than active duty for training) experiencing 

25 a change of address about the benefits of this section and 


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1 the timeframe for requesting an absentee ballot to ensure 

2 sufficient time for State delivery of the ballot.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions at the beginning of chapter 80 of such title is 

5 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec6 tion 1566a the following new item: 

‘‘1566b. Annual voter assistance.’’. 

7 (b) REPORT ON STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

10 Defense shall submit to the relevant committees of 

11 Congress a report on the status of the implementation 

12 of the requirements of section 1566b of title 10, 

13 United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1). 

14 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

15 (1) shall include— 

16 (A) a detailed description of any specific 

17 steps already taken towards the implementation 

18 of the requirements of such section 1566b; 

19 (B) a detailed plan for the implementation 

20 of such requirements, including milestones and 

21 deadlines for the completion of such implementa22 tion; 

23 (C) the costs expected to be incurred in the 

24 implementation of such requirements; 


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1 (D) a description of how the annual voting 

2 assistance and system under subsection (a)(3) of 

3 such section will be integrated with Department 

4 of Defense personnel databases that track mili5 tary servicemembers’ address changes; 

6 (E) an estimate of how long it will take an 

7 average member to complete the voter assistance 

8 process required under subsection (a)(1) of such 

9 section; 

10 (F) an explanation of how the Secretary of 

11 Defense will collect reliable data on the utiliza12 tion of the online system under subsection (a)(2) 

13 of such section; and 

14 (G) a summary of any objections, concerns, 

15 or comments made by State or local election offi16 cials regarding the implementation of such sec17 tion. 

18 (3) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE19 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant com20 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

21 (A) the Committees on Appropriations, 

22 Armed Services, and Rules and Administration 

23 of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committees on Appropriations, 

2 Armed Services, and House Administration of 

3 the House of Representatives. 

4 TITLE III—ELECTRONIC VOTING 

5 SYSTEMS 

6 SEC. 301. REPEAL OF ELECTRONIC VOTING DEMONSTRA7 TION PROJECT. 

8 Section 1604 of the National Defense Authorization 

9 Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff note) is repealed. 


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Calendar No. 355 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1728 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

voters, and for other purposes. bility to uniformed services voters and overseas Absentee Voting Act to improve ballot accessiAPRIL 10, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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