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Quick

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G Serving UOCAVA Voters

Helping America Vote

About the Quick Start Guides: The EAC's Quick Start Guides are intended to familiarize local election officials with various topics

they will likely encounter in election administration. The guides are a starting point to identify areas of concern and give officials a

broad idea of factors they should consider in approaching a given topic.

What is required under UOCAVA?

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and Military and Overseas

Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) protect uniformed service members, their eligible family members, and overseas citizens'

right to vote. To do so, the Acts require election officials in all states, territories, and the District of Columbia to:

Report statistics on the number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and received

Accept ballot requests and send blank ballots electronically

Send blank ballots starting a minimum of 45 days before Election Day (if requested)

Provide a free access system for UOCAVA voters to track receipt of their ballots

Many states have adopted additional procedures and protections for UOCAVA voters. Be sure

to review and incorporate your jurisdiction's laws and regulations in developing your plan to

serve UOCAVA voters.

Electronic Ballot Return

Some jurisdictions allow UOCAVA

voters to return their voted ballots

electronically or via facsimile.

However, many UOCAVA voters

are required to print and mail their

voted ballots. Who are UOCAVA voters?

Members of the uniformed services (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service

Commissioned Corps, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] Commissioned Officer Corps)

Members of the U.S. Merchant Marines

Eligible family members of the above

U.S. Citizens residing outside the United States

Tips for Improving Service to UOCAVA Voters

Communicate early and often

Create an email contact list for UOCAVA voters and periodically update them on upcoming elections and

important deadlines.

Provide notice when you receive the voter's ballot request, the blank ballot is transmitted, the voted ballot

is received, and the ballot is counted. Be sure to promptly notify the voter of any issues with their initial

request for a ballot or their returned ballot that they may need to cure if permitted by law.

Document the number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted, received, and rejected, and use the information to

improve procedures and communications.

Provide a dedicated UOCAVA page on the elections office's website

Link to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) and the Federal Post Card Application

(FPCA) form to make registration and requesting a ballot simple.

Include important deadlines and state-specific rules. Many states also have dedicated UOCAVA pages on

their websites; if yours does, provide a link.

Highlight registration look-up and ballot tracking tools.

Address FAQs with information specific to UOCAVA voters and their rights.

Partner with local military establishments

Connect with the Voting Assistance Officer serving your local military base.

FVAP.gov

Take advantage of the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) resources

Complete the online training for understanding the UOCAVA voting process at

https://www.fvap.gov/eo/training

Utilize FVAP's address service to get updated addresses for active-duty service members. Election

officials can email (vote@fvap.gov) or fax (571.372.0735 or 571.372.0749) FVAP to request updated

address information.

May 1, 2022 v. 1.0 EAC | Helping America Vote

eac.gov clearinghouse@eac.gov @EACgov @eacgov1 @us.eac