II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1415 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 

ensure that absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters are 

aware of their voting rights and have a genuine opportunity to register 

to vote and have their absentee ballots cast and counted, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 8, 2009 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. CHAMBLISS, and Mr. NELSON of Nebraska) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act to ensure that absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters are aware of their voting rights 

and have a genuine opportunity to register to vote and 

have their absentee ballots cast and counted, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military and Overseas 

5 Voter Empowerment Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The right to vote is a fundamental right. 

4 (2) Due to logistical, geographical, operational 

5 and environmental barriers, military and overseas 

6 voters are burdened by many obstacles that impact 

7 their right to vote and register to vote, the most crit8 ical of which include problems transmitting balloting 

9 materials and not being given enough time to vote. 

10 (3) States play an essential role in facilitating 

11 the ability of military and overseas voters to register 

12 to vote and have their ballots cast and counted, es13 pecially with respect to timing and improvement of 

14 absentee voter registration and absentee ballot pro15 cedures. 

16 (4) The Department of Defense educates mili17 tary and overseas voters of their rights under the 

18 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

19 Act and plays an indispensable role in facilitating 

20 the procedural channels that allow military and over21 seas voters to have their votes count. 

22 (5) The local, State, and Federal Government 

23 entities involved with getting ballots to military and 

24 overseas voters must work in conjunction to provide 

25 voter registration services and balloting materials in 

26 a secure and expeditious manner. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR ABSENT 

2 UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS AND OVER3 SEAS VOTERS TO REQUEST AND FOR STATES 

4 TO SEND VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICA5 TIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA6 TIONS BY MAIL, ELECTRONICALLY, AND BY 

7 FACSIMILE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Uniformed and 

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

10 1) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(6) in addition to any other method of reg19 istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 

20 the State, establish procedures— 

21 ‘‘(A) for absent uniformed services voters 

22 and overseas voters to request by mail, elec23 tronically, and by facsimile voter registration 

24 applications and absentee ballot applications 

25 with respect to general, special, primary, and 


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1 runoff elections for Federal office in accordance 

2 with subsection (e); 

3 ‘‘(B) for States to send by mail, electroni4 cally, and by facsimile (in accordance with the 

5 preferred method of transmission designated by 

6 the absent uniformed services voter or overseas 

7 voter under subparagraph (C)) voter registra8 tion applications and absentee ballot applica9 tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac10 cordance with subsection (e); and 

11 ‘‘(C) by which the absent uniformed serv12 ices voter or overseas voter can designate 

13 whether they prefer for such voter registration 

14 application or absentee ballot application to be 

15 transmitted by mail, electronically, or by fac16 simile.’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(e) DESIGNATION OF EMAIL ADDRESS AND FAC20 SIMILE NUMBER FOR ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES

21 VOTERS AND OVERSEAS VOTERS TO REQUEST AND FOR

22 STATES TO SEND VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS

23 AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS, AND FOR OTHER

24 PURPOSES RELATED TO VOTING INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi2 tion to the designation of a single State office under 

3 subsection (b), designate not less than 1 email ad4 dress and not less than 1 facsimile number— 

5 ‘‘(A) for use by absent uniformed services 

6 voters and overseas voters who wish to register 

7 to vote or vote in any jurisdiction in the State 

8 to request voter registration applications and 

9 absentee ballot applications under subsection 

10 (a)(6); 

11 ‘‘(B) for use by States to send voter reg12 istration applications and absentee ballot appli13 cations requested under such subsection; and 

14 ‘‘(C) for the purpose of providing related 

15 voting, balloting, and election information to 

16 absent uniformed services voters and overseas 

17 voters. 

18 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF DESIGNATED EMAIL AD19 DRESS AND FACSIMILE NUMBER ON BALLOTING MA20 TERIALS AND RELATED COMMUNICATIONS.—Each 

21 State shall include an email address and facsimile 

22 number so designated on all balloting materials and 

23 related communications sent by the State to absent 

24 uniformed services voters and overseas voters. 


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1 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY AND MAINTENANCE OF ON2 LINE REPOSITORY OF STATE CONTACT INFORMA3 TION.—The Federal Voting Assistance Program of 

4 the Department of Defense shall maintain and make 

5 available to the public an online repository of State 

6 contact information with respect to elections for 

7 Federal office, including the single State office des8 ignated under subsection (b) and the email address 

9 and facsimile number designated under paragraph 

10 (1), to be used by absent uniformed services voters 

11 and overseas voters as a resource to send voter reg12 istration applications and absentee ballot applica13 tions to the appropriate jurisdiction in the State. 

14 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI15 CATED.—In the case where an absent uniformed 

16 services voter or overseas voter does not designate a 

17 preference under subsection (a)(6)(C), the State 

18 shall transmit the voter registration application or 

19 absentee ballot application by any delivery method 

20 allowable in accordance with applicable State law, or 

21 if there is no applicable State law, by mail. 

22 ‘‘(5) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The procedures 

23 established under subsection (a)(6) shall ensure that 

24 the privacy of the identity and other personal data 

25 of an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 


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1 voter who requests or is sent a voter registration ap2 plication or absentee ballot application under such 

3 subsection is protected throughout the process of 

4 making such request or being sent such applica5 tion.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched8 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

9 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR STATES TO 

11 TRANSMIT BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS BY 

12 MAIL, ONLINE, AND BY FACSIMILE TO AB13 SENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS AND 

14 OVERSEAS VOTERS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Uniformed and 

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

17 1), as amended by section 3, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe22 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(7) in addition to any other method of trans2 mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 

3 procedures for transmitting by mail, electronically, 

4 and by facsimile blank absentee ballots to absent 

5 uniformed services voters and overseas voters with 

6 respect to general, special, primary, and runoff elec7 tions for Federal office in accordance with sub8 section (f).’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(f) TRANSMISSION OF BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS

12 BY MAIL, ONLINE, AND BY FACSIMILE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 

14 procedures— 

15 ‘‘(A) to transmit blank absentee ballots by 

16 mail, electronically, and by facsimile (in accord17 ance with the preferred method of transmission 

18 designated by the absent uniformed services 

19 voter or overseas voter under subparagraph 

20 (B)) to absent uniformed services voters and 

21 overseas voters for an election for Federal of22 fice; and 

23 ‘‘(B) by which the absent uniformed serv24 ices voter or overseas voter can designate 

25 whether they prefer for such blank absentee 


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1 ballot to be transmitted by mail, electronically, 

2 or by facsimile. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI4 CATED.—In the case where an absent uniformed 

5 services voter or overseas voter does not designate a 

6 preference under paragraph (1)(B), the State shall 

7 transmit the ballot by any delivery method allowable 

8 in accordance with applicable State law, or if there 

9 is no applicable State law, by mail. 

10 ‘‘(3) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The procedures 

11 established under subsection (a)(7) shall ensure that 

12 the privacy of the identity and other personal data 

13 of an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 

14 voter to whom a blank absentee ballot is transmitted 

15 under such subsection is protected throughout the 

16 process of such transmission.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched19 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

20 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

21 SEC. 5. ENSURING ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS 

22 AND OVERSEAS VOTERS HAVE TIME TO VOTE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Uniformed and 

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

25 1), as amended by section 4, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

3 the end; 

4 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe5 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

7 paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(8) except as provided in subsection (g), trans9 mit a validly requested absentee ballot to an absent 

10 uniformed services voter or overseas voter— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case where the request is re12 ceived at least 45 days before an election for 

13 Federal office, not later than 45 days before the 

14 election; and 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case where the request is re16 ceived less than 45 days before an election for 

17 Federal office— 

18 ‘‘(i) in accordance with State law; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) if practicable and as determined 

20 appropriate by the State, in a manner that 

21 expedites the transmission of such absen22 tee ballot; and 

23 ‘‘(9) except as provided in subsection (g), ac24 cept and count a marked absentee ballot of an ab25 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter that 


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1 is postmarked or otherwise officially dated on or be2 fore the election for Federal office involved if the 

3 marked absentee ballot is received by the State on 

4 or before the later of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the date that is 55 days after the 

6 date on which a validly requested absentee bal7 lot is required to be transmitted under para8 graph (8)(A); or 

9 ‘‘(B) the date on which the State certifies 

10 the election.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(g) EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATES FROM CER14 TAIN TIME REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is not required to 

16 comply with the requirements of paragraphs (8) and 

17 (9) of subsection (a) if, on and after the date of en18 actment of this subsection, the State has in effect a 

19 law providing that a State absentee ballot is re20 quired to be available to any absent uniformed serv21 ices voter or overseas voter not later than 55 days 

22 before the election for Federal office involved (deter23 mined beginning on the date on which the State 

24 transmits a blank absentee ballot to an absent uni25 formed services voter or overseas voter and ending 


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1 on the deadline of the State for receipt of such ap2 plication). 

3 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXEMPTION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the chief State elec5 tion official determines that the State is unable 

6 to meet the requirements under such para7 graphs with respect to an election for Federal 

8 office due to an undue hardship described in 

9 subparagraph (B)(ii), the chief State election 

10 official shall request that the Presidential des11 ignee grant a waiver to the State of the applica12 tion of such paragraphs. Such request shall in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(i) a recognition that the purpose of 

15 such paragraphs is to allow absent uni16 formed services voters and overseas voters 

17 enough time to vote in an election for Fed18 eral office; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an explanation of the hardship 

20 that indicates why the State is unable to 

21 transmit absent uniformed services voters 

22 and overseas voters an absentee ballot in 

23 accordance with such paragraphs; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the number of days prior to the 

25 election for Federal office that the State 


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1 requires absentee ballots be transmitted to 

2 absent uniformed services voters and over3 seas voters; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) a comprehensive plan to ensure 

5 that absent uniformed services voters and 

6 overseas voters are able to receive absentee 

7 ballots which they have requested and sub8 mit marked absentee ballots to the appro9 priate State election official in time to have 

10 that ballot counted in the election for Fed11 eral office, which includes— 

12 ‘‘(I) the steps the State will un13 dertake to ensure that absent uni14 formed services voters and overseas 

15 voters have time to receive, mark, and 

16 submit their ballots in time to have 

17 those ballots counted in the election; 

18 ‘‘(II) why the plan provides ab19 sent uniformed services voters and 

20 overseas voters sufficient time to vote 

21 as a substitute for the requirements 

22 under such paragraphs; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the underlying factual in24 formation which explains how the plan 


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1 provides such sufficient time to vote 

2 as a substitute for such requirements. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF WAIVER REQUEST.— 

4 The Presidential designee shall approve a waiv5 er request under subparagraph (A) if the Presi6 dential designee determines each of the fol7 lowing requirements are met: 

8 ‘‘(i) The comprehensive plan under 

9 clause (iv) of such subparagraph provides 

10 absent uniformed services voters and over11 seas voters sufficient time to receive absen12 tee ballots they have requested and submit 

13 marked absentee ballots to the appropriate 

14 State election official in time to have that 

15 ballot counted in the election for Federal 

16 office. 

17 ‘‘(ii) One or more of the following 

18 issues creates an undue hardship for the 

19 State: 

20 ‘‘(I) The State’s primary election 

21 date prohibits the State from com22 plying with such paragraphs (8) and 

23 (9). 

24 ‘‘(II) The State has suffered a 

25 delay in generating ballots due to a 


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1 legal contest with respect to a primary 

2 election. 

3 ‘‘(III) The State Constitution 

4 prohibits the State from complying 

5 with such paragraphs. 

6 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF WAIVER.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro8 vided under clause (ii), a State that re9 quests a waiver under subparagraph (A) 

10 shall submit to the Presidential designee 

11 the written waiver request not later than 

12 90 days before the election for Federal of13 fice with respect to which the request is 

14 submitted. The Presidential designee shall 

15 approve or deny the waiver request not 

16 later than 65 days before such election. 

17 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If a State requests 

18 a waiver under subparagraph (A) as the 

19 result of an undue hardship described in 

20 subparagraph (B)(ii)(II), the State shall 

21 submit to the Presidential designee the 

22 written waiver request as soon as prac23 ticable. The Presidential designee shall ap24 prove or deny the waiver request not later 


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1 than 5 business days after the date on 

2 which the request is received. 

3 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver 

4 approved under subparagraph (B) shall only 

5 apply with respect to the election for Federal 

6 office for which the request was submitted. For 

7 each subsequent election for Federal office, the 

8 Presidential designee shall only approve a waiv9 er if the State has submitted a request under 

10 subparagraph (A) with respect to such elec11 tion.’’. 

12 (b) RUNOFF ELECTIONS.—Section 102(a) of the 

13 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)), as amended by subsection (a), is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(10) if the State declares or otherwise holds a 

23 runoff election for Federal office, establish a written 

24 plan that provides absentee ballots are made avail25 able to absent uniformed services voters and overVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:37 Jul 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1415.IS S1415

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1 seas voters in manner that gives them sufficient 

2 time to vote in the runoff election.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched5 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

6 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

7 SEC. 6. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF 

8 MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 

9 OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Uniformed and Overseas 

11 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.) 

12 is amended by inserting after section 103 the following 

13 new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 103A. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY 

15 OF MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 

16 OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 

17 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION.—The Presidential designee shall 

18 establish procedures for collecting marked absentee ballots 

19 of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly 

20 scheduled general elections for Federal office, including 

21 absentee ballots prepared by States and the Federal write22 in absentee ballot prescribed under section 103, and for 

23 delivering the ballots to the appropriate State election offi24 cials. 


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1 ‘‘(b) UTILIZATION OF EXPRESS MAIL DELIVERY

2 SERVICES.—Under the procedures established under this 

3 section, the Presidential designee, working in conjunction 

4 with the United States Postal Service, shall implement 

5 procedures that provide absent uniformed services voters 

6 access to express mail delivery service for the purpose of 

7 mailing marked absentee ballots to the appropriate State 

8 election official. Such procedures shall ensure that the fol9 lowing requirements are met: 

10 ‘‘(1) NO POSTAGE REQUIREMENT.—In accord11 ance with section 3406 of title 39, United States 

12 Code, such marked absentee ballots and other bal13 loting materials are carried free of postage. 

14 ‘‘(2) DATE OF MAILING.—Such marked absen15 tee ballots are postmarked with a record of the date 

16 on which the ballot is mailed. 

17 ‘‘(c) ABSENT OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES

18 VOTER DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘absent over19 seas uniformed services voter’ means an overseas voter de20 scribed in section 107(5)(A).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 101(b) of 

22 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

24 (6); 


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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(8) carry out section 103A with respect to the 

6 collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of 

7 absent overseas uniformed services voters in elec8 tions for Federal office.’’. 

9 (c) TRACKING MARKED BALLOTS.—Section 102 of 

10 the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)), as amended by section 5, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(h) TRACKING MARKED BALLOTS.—The chief State 

15 election official, in coordination with local election jurisdic16 tions, shall develop a free access system by which an ab17 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter may deter18 mine whether the absentee ballot of the absent uniformed 

19 services voter or overseas voter has been received by the 

20 appropriate State election official.’’. 

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

22 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched23 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

24 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 


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1 SEC. 7. FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT. 

2 (a) USE IN GENERAL, SPECIAL, PRIMARY, AND RUN3 OFF ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the Uni5 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2) is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘general 

8 elections for Federal office’’ and inserting ‘‘gen9 eral, special, primary, and runoff elections for 

10 Federal office’’; 

11 (B) in subsection (e), in the matter pre12 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a general 

13 election’’ and inserting ‘‘a general, special, pri14 mary, or runoff election for Federal office’’; and 

15 (C) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘the gen16 eral election’’ each place it appears and insert17 ing ‘‘the general, special, primary, or runoff 

18 election for Federal office’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall take effect on December 31, 

21 2010, and apply with respect to elections for Federal 

22 office held on or after such date. 

23 (b) PROMOTION AND EXPANSION OF USE.—Section 

24 103(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

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


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘GENERAL.—The Presidential’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT.— 

4 The Presidential’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(2) PROMOTION AND EXPANSION OF USE OF

8 FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than De10 cember 31, 2011, the Presidential designee 

11 shall adopt procedures to promote and expand 

12 the use of the Federal write-in absentee ballot 

13 as a back-up measure to vote in elections for 

14 Federal office. 

15 ‘‘(B) USE OF TECHNOLOGY.—Under such 

16 procedures, the Presidential designee shall uti17 lize technology to implement a system under 

18 which the absent uniformed services voter or 

19 overseas voter may— 

20 ‘‘(i) enter the address of the voter or 

21 other information relevant in the appro22 priate jurisdiction of the State, and the 

23 system will generate a list of all candidates 

24 in the election for Federal office in that ju25 risdiction; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) submit the marked Federal 

2 write-in absentee ballot by printing the bal3 lot (including complete instructions for 

4 submitting the marked Federal write-in ab5 sentee ballot to the appropriate State elec6 tion official and the mailing address of the 

7 single State office designated under section 

8 102(b)).’’. 

9 SEC. 8. PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT VOTER REG10 ISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA11 TIONS, MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS, AND 

12 FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR 

13 FAILURE TO MEET TECHNICAL REQUIRE14 MENTS. 

15 (a) VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT

16 APPLICATIONS.—Section 102 of the Uniformed and Over17 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1), 

18 as amended by section 6, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT APPLICA21 TIONS FOR FAILURE TO MEET TECHNICAL REQUIRE22 MENTS.—A State shall not refuse to accept and process 

23 any otherwise valid voter registration application or absen24 tee ballot application (including the official post card form 

25 prescribed under section 101) or marked absentee ballot 


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1 submitted in any manner by an absent uniformed services 

2 voter or overseas voter solely on the basis of the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Notarization requirements. 

4 ‘‘(2) Restrictions on paper type, including 

5 weight and size. 

6 ‘‘(3) Restrictions on envelope type, including 

7 weight and size.’’. 

8 (b) FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT.—Sec9 tion 103 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–2) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub11 section (g); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT BALLOT

15 FOR FAILURE TO MEET TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 A State shall not refuse to accept and process any other17 wise valid Federal write-in absentee ballot submitted in 

18 any manner by an absent uniformed services voter or over19 seas voter solely on the basis of the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Notarization requirements. 

21 ‘‘(2) Restrictions on paper type, including 

22 weight and size. 

23 ‘‘(3) Restrictions on envelope type, including 

24 weight and size.’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched3 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

4 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

5 SEC. 9. FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IM6 PROVEMENTS. 

7 (a) FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IM8 PROVEMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Uniformed and Over10 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ff 

11 et seq.), as amended by section 6, is amended by in12 serting after section 103A the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 103B. FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IM14 PROVEMENTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential designee shall 

16 develop standards for training, supporting, and empha17 sizing Voting Assistance Officers under the Federal Vot18 ing Assistance Program of the Department of Defense— 

19 ‘‘(1) for all members of the uniformed services; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(2) on all installations and facilities of the uni22 formed services in the United States and overseas. 

23 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Presidential designee shall carry 

24 out the following duties: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Assign Senior Voting Assistance Officers 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A)(i) Assign 1 Senior Voting Assistance 

4 Officer on each installation or facility and in 

5 each organization of the uniformed services, at 

6 the 0–6 level, to coordinate the programs con7 ducted by subordinate units and tenant com8 mands. 

9 ‘‘(ii) To the extent practicable, subject to 

10 clause (iii), an individual assigned under this 

11 subparagraph as the Senior Voting Assistance 

12 Officer on an installation or facility or in an or13 ganization shall be an employee in a position at 

14 GS–12 or higher of the General Schedule, or, if 

15 a member of a uniformed service is so assigned, 

16 the member shall be in a pay grade of O–4 or 

17 higher. 

18 ‘‘(iii) In the case where the number of indi19 viduals on the installation or facility or in the 

20 organization at the 0–6 level is less than 50, 

21 the Senior Voting Assistance Officer shall be 

22 assigned at the next highest level that has at 

23 least 50 individual assigned to it. 

24 ‘‘(iv) To the extent practicable, each indi25 vidual assigned under this subparagraph shall 


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1 notify individuals on the installation or facility 

2 or in the organization of the last date before a 

3 regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

4 office on which absentee ballots mailed from 

5 that installation, facility, or organization may 

6 reasonably be expected to be delivered in time 

7 to be counted in such election. 

8 ‘‘(B) Assign 1 Senior Voting Assistance 

9 Officer to each reserve component at its head10 quarters level. 

11 ‘‘(2) Designate and assign in writing 1 Voting 

12 Assistance Officer to each unit, installation, or facil13 ity of the uniformed services for every 50 members 

14 of a uniformed service permanently assigned to the 

15 unit, installation, or facility. A member of a uni16 formed service assigned under the preceding sen17 tence shall hold a pay grade of not less than O–2 

18 for officers or E–7 for enlisted personnel. Voting As19 sistance Officers assigned under this paragraph shall 

20 operate under the guidance of Senior Voting Assist21 ance Officers assigned under paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(3) Ensure that Voting Assistance Officers are 

23 available and equipped to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) personally assist absent uniformed 

2 services voters with respect to each election for 

3 Federal office; and 

4 ‘‘(B) ensure that any absent uniformed 

5 services voter who appears to need assistance in 

6 reading or understanding the English language 

7 on voter registration or voting materials re8 ceives immediate assistance with balloting mate9 rials in the appropriate language. 

10 ‘‘(4) Provide Voting Assistance Officers with 

11 time and resources needed to perform their voting 

12 assistance duties, especially during even-numbered 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(5) Develop online portals of information for 

15 use by Voting Assistance Officers— 

16 ‘‘(A) for training purposes; and 

17 ‘‘(B) to inform absent uniformed services 

18 voters regarding voter registration procedures 

19 and absentee ballot procedures to be used by 

20 such voters with respect to elections for Federal 

21 office. 

22 ‘‘(6) Establish a program to notify absent uni23 formed services voters of voter registration informa24 tion and resources, the availability of the Federal 

25 postcard application, and the availability of the FedVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:37 Jul 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1415.IS S1415

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1 eral write-in absentee ballot on the military Global 

2 Network, and shall use the military Global Network 

3 to notify absent uniformed services voters of the 

4 foregoing 90, 60, and 30 days prior to each election 

5 for Federal office. 

6 ‘‘(7) Include, in the standard forms provided to 

7 a new member of the uniformed services during in8 processing upon arrival at installations and bases of 

9 the uniformed services, information on voter reg10 istration procedures and absentee ballot procedures 

11 to be used by absent uniformed services voters (in12 cluding the official post card form prescribed under 

13 section 101). 

14 ‘‘(8) Provide clear written notice and instruc15 tions for the absent uniformed services voter to 

16 change their address by submitting the official post 

17 card form prescribed under section 101 to the ap18 propriate State election official. 

19 ‘‘(9) Not later than December 31 of each year, 

20 transmit to the President and to Congress a report 

21 on the effectiveness of activities carried out under 

22 this section, including the activities and actions of 

23 the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the De24 partment of Defense, a separate assessment of voter 

25 registration and participation by absent uniformed 


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1 overseas voters, a separate assessment of voter reg2 istration and participation by overseas voters who 

3 are not members of the uniformed services, and a 

4 description of the cooperation between the States 

5 and the Federal Government in carrying out this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘(c) CLARIFICATION REGARDING OTHER DUTIES

8 AND OBLIGATIONS.—Nothing in this section shall relieve 

9 the Presidential designee of their duties and obligations 

10 under any directives or regulations issued by the Depart11 ment of Defense, including the Department of Defense Di12 rective 1000.04 (or any successor directive or regulation) 

13 that is not inconsistent or contradictory to the provisions 

14 of this section. 

15 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Voting 

17 Assistance Program of the Department of Defense such 

18 sums as are necessary for purposes of carrying out this 

19 section.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 101 

21 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff), as amended by sec22 tion 6, is amended— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (b)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

25 paragraph (7); 


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1 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

2 of paragraph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

3 and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(9) carry out section 103B with respect to 

7 Federal Voting Assistance Program Improvements.’’; 

8 and 

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

10 subsection: 

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR CAR12 RYING OUT FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IM13 PROVEMENTS.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

14 to the Presidential designee such sums as are necessary 

15 for purposes of carrying out subsection (b)(9).’’. 

16 (b) TREATMENT OF MILITARY PAY, PERSONNEL, 

17 AND IDENTIFICATION OFFICES AND CERTAIN OTHER OF18 FICES AS VOTER REGISTRATION AGENCIES.—Section 102 

19 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1), as amended by section 8, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF MILITARY PAY, PERSONNEL, 

24 AND IDENTIFICATION OFFICES AND CERTAIN OFFICES AS

25 VOTER REGISTRATION AGENCIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PAY, PERSONNEL, AND IDENTIFICATION

2 OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Each 

3 State and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly de4 velop and implement procedures for persons to apply 

5 to register to vote at pay, personnel, and identifica6 tion offices of the Department of Defense. A pay, 

7 personnel, or identification office of the Department 

8 of Defense shall be considered to be a voter registra9 tion agency designated under section 7(a)(2) of the 

10 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 for all pur11 poses of such Act. 

12 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN OFFICES AT

13 THE INSTALLATION LEVEL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Secretary of a mili15 tary department may designate an office at the 

16 installation level, consistent across every instal17 lation of the department of the Secretary con18 cerned, to serve as a voter registration agency 

19 for that department. An office designated by 

20 the Secretary concerned under the preceding 

21 sentence shall be considered to be a voter reg22 istration agency designated under section 

23 7(a)(2) of such Act for all purposes of such 

24 Act. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF MILITARY DEPART2 MENT AND SECRETARY CONCERNED.—In this 

3 paragraph, the terms ‘military department’ and 

4 ‘Secretary concerned’ have the meaning given 

5 such terms in paragraphs (8) and (9), respec6 tively, of section 101 of title 10, United States 

7 Code. 

8 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

10 as are necessary to carry out this subsection.’’. 

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

12 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched13 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

14 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

15 SEC. 10. DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS FOR REPORTING 

16 AND STORING CERTAIN DATA. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b) of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)), as amended by section 9, is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

20 (8); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(10) working with the Election Assistance 

2 Commission and the chief State election official of 

3 each State, develop standards— 

4 ‘‘(A) for States to report data on the num5 ber of absentee ballots transmitted and received 

6 under section 102(c) and such other data as the 

7 Presidential designee determines appropriate; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) for the Presidential designee to store 

10 the data reported.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 102(a) of 

12 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)), as amended by section 

13 5, is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at 

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(11) report data on the number of absentee 

21 ballots transmitted and received under section 

22 102(c) and such other data as the Presidential des23 ignee determines appropriate in accordance with the 

24 standards developed by the Presidential designee 

25 under section 101(b)(10).’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched3 uled general election for Federal office held in November 

4 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

5 SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT. 

6 Section 105 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

7 Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973f–4) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem13 ber 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit 

14 to Congress an annual report on any civil action brought 

15 under subsection (a) during the preceding year.’’. 

16 SEC. 12. REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS. 

17 (a) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 251(b) of the Help 

18 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401(b)) is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

21 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(3) ACTIVITIES UNDER UNIFORMED AND

25 OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT.—A 


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1 State shall use a requirements payment made using 

2 funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization 

3 under section 257(4) only to meet the requirements 

4 under the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting 

5 Act imposed as a result of the provisions of and 

6 amendments made by the Military and Overseas 

7 Voter Empowerment Act.’’. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) STATE PLAN.—Section 254 of the Help 

10 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15404) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The 

13 State’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c), 

14 the State’’; 

15 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub16 section (d); and 

17 (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

18 following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(c) STATE PLAN FOR CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS

20 PAYMENTS.—In the case of a requirements payment made 

21 using funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization 

22 under section 257(4), the State plan shall contain a de23 scription of how the State will use such requirements pay24 ment to meet the requirements under the Uniformed and 

25 Overseas Absentee Voting Act imposed as a result of the 


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1 provisions of and amendments made by the Military and 

2 Overseas Voter Empowerment Act.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

4 253(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

5 U.S.C. 15403(b)) is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘sec7 tion 254’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) of sec8 tion 254 (or, in the case of a requirements pay9 ment made using funds appropriated pursuant 

10 to the authorization under section 257(4), sub11 section (c) of such section)’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘(2) The State’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph 

15 (B), the State’’; and 

16 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

17 (A), as added by clause (i), the following 

18 new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(B) The requirement under subparagraph (A) 

20 shall not apply in the case of a requirements pay21 ment made using funds appropriated pursuant to 

22 the authorization under section 257(4).’’. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 257 of the Help 

24 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15407) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2010 and subsequent fiscal 

2 years, such sums as are necessary for purposes of 

3 making requirements payments to States to carry 

4 out the activities described in section 251(b)(3).’’. 

5 SEC. 13. TECHNOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTER.— 

8 The term ‘‘absent uniformed services voter’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 107(a) of the 

10 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.). 

12 (2) OVERSEAS VOTER.—The term ‘‘overseas 

13 voter’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

14 107(5) of such Act. 

15 (3) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—The term 

16 ‘‘Presidential designee’’ means the individual des17 ignated under section 101(a) of such Act. 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential designee 

20 may establish 1 or more pilot programs under which 

21 the feasibility of new election technology is tested for 

22 the benefit of absent uniformed services voters and 

23 overseas voters claiming rights under the Uniformed 

24 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.). 


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1 (2) DESIGN AND CONDUCT.—The design and 

2 conduct of a pilot program established under this 

3 subsection— 

4 (A) shall be at the discretion of the Presi5 dential designee; and 

6 (B) shall not conflict with or substitute for 

7 existing laws, regulations, or procedures with 

8 respect to the participation of absent uniformed 

9 services voters and military voters in elections 

10 for Federal office. 

11 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a pilot pro12 gram established under subsection (b), the Presidential 

13 designee may consider the following issues: 

14 (1) The transmission of electronic voting mate15 rial across military networks. 

16 (2) Virtual private networks, cryptographic vot17 ing systems, centrally controlled voting stations, and 

18 other information security techniques. 

19 (3) The transmission of ballot representations 

20 and scanned pictures in a secure manner. 

21 (4) Capturing, retaining, and comparing elec22 tronic and physical ballot representations. 

23 (5) Utilization of voting stations at military 

24 bases. 

25 (6) Document delivery and upload systems. 


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1 (7) The functional effectiveness of the applica2 tion or adoption of the pilot program to operational 

3 environments, taking into account environmental 

4 and logistical obstacles and State procedures. 

5 (d) REPORTS.—The Presidential designee shall sub6 mit to Congress reports on the progress and outcomes of 

7 any pilot program conducted under this subsection, to8 gether with recommendations— 

9 (1) for the conduct of additional pilot programs 

10 under this section; and 

11 (2) for such legislation and administrative ac12 tion as the Presidential designee determines appro13 priate. 

14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec16 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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