U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

Uniformed and Overseas 

Citizens Absentee Voting Act

Survey Findings, November 2009
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary. 

Introduction. 

Survey Methodology. 

Survey Results. 

Ballot requests. 

Ballots transmitted. 

Ballots submitted for counting.

Ballots counted and rejected.  

Conclusions. .

Notes on the Tables. .

Cross reference of Survey Questions to Tables. .

Appendix A – Tables. .

Appendix B – Questionnaire. .
2 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), 42 U.S.C. § 

15301 et seq, mandates that for each regularly scheduled 

general election for Federal office, the Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) shall collect comprehensive data from 

the States on all of the ballots sent and received by voters 

covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff. 

This is the third report from the EAC to Congress regarding UOCAVA voting. It is based on information gathered 

from a survey of 55 States and territories, asking for data at 

the county (or equivalent) level regarding the November 4, 

2008, election and the 2-year period leading up to it.

Response rates to the 2008 EAC survey were markedly 

better than in 2006, continuing a trend that allows better 

monitoring of compliance with the mandated requirements of UOCAVA.1

 Some States do not track all the data 

items and some States are unable to provide data at the 

county (or equivalent) level. Consistency across the States 

in the way terms are defined and data collected remains 

uneven. Readers should be aware of these limitations as 

they review this report and use the data presented here 

and in the complete dataset available on the EAC Website 

at www.eac.gov.

The EAC’s 2008 Election Administration and Voting 

Survey remains the primary tool by which Congress, 

Federal agencies, and the public can monitor compliance 

with UOCAVA. Among the highlights of the 2008 survey:

1. States transmitted nearly 1 million ballots to 

UOCAVA-covered voters for the 2008 election, with 

nearly half (48.6%) going to uniformed services 

members. Another 37.9 percent went to civilian citizens living overseas.

2. Of the ballots transmitted, 69 percent (682,341) 

were returned and submitted for counting. 

3. States reported transmitting 231,324 ballots automatically to voters who had cast UOCAVA ballots in 

previous elections. Voters returned 64.9 percent of 

these ballots.

4. States reported counting 637,216 UOCAVA ballots, 

or 93.6% of the total submitted for counting. 

5. States reported rejecting 39,533 ballots. The most 

common reason given for rejecting a UOCAVA ballot was that the ballot missed a deadline; States 

reported that 43.7 percent of ballots rejected were 

rejected for this reason.

6. States reported that 28,131 voters submitted 

a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). 

Challenges in tracking FWABs as a separate ballot 

category means actual usage may have been higher.

2. INTRODUCTION

The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 

is an independent, bipartisan commission created by the 

Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). Its mission is to 

assist State and local election officials with the administration of Federal elections. The EAC provides assistance 

by disbursing, administering, and auditing Federal funds 

for States to implement HAVA requirements; conducting 

studies and other activities to promote the effective administration of Federal elections; and serving as a source 

of information regarding election administration.

Since 2004, the EAC has collected data on voting, 

elections, and election administration in the United 

States. Much of these data support two biennial reports, 

on voter registration and on voting by uniformed and 

overseas citizens. 

In 1986, Congress passed the Uniformed and Overseas 

Citizens Absentee Voting Act, (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. § 

1973ff. UOCAVA covers voting by members of the seven 

uniformed services and their eligible dependents; 

members of the U.S. Merchant Marine and their eligible 

dependents; Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public 

Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; and U.S. citizens residing outside the 

United States. Under UOCAVA, State and territories are to 

provide a means for these citizens to register and to vote in 

elections for Federal office using absentee procedures.

UOCAVA also provides for the use of a Federal Write-in 

Absentee Ballot, which can be cast under certain conditions 

by voters who have applied for but who have not yet received 

their absentee ballot. The FWAB is intended as a fail-safe for 

voters who might encounter problems receiving their ballot 

from local election offices in time to cast their vote.

Section 703(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

(HAVA), amended section 102 of UOCAVA by adding the 

following requirement:

Not later than 90 days after the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, 

1 Response rates improved in many areas of the survey in addition 

to UOCAVA. See “The Impact of the National Voter Registration 

Act on Federal Elections, 2007–2008” and “The 2008 Election 

Administration and Voting Survey” at the EAC Web site, http://

www.eac.gov.
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each State and unit of local government which 

administered the election shall (through the State, 

in the case of a unit of local government) submit 

a report to the Election Assistance Commission 

(established under the Help America Vote Act of 

2002) on the combined number of absentee ballots 

transmitted to absent uniformed services voters 

and overseas voters for the election and the combined number of such ballots which were returned 

by such voters and cast in the election, and shall 

make such a report available to the general public.

Section 703(b) of HAVA further required that the 

EAC work with two of its statutory Federal Advisory 

Committees, the Board of Advisors and the Standards 

Board, to develop a standardized format for reports submitted by States and units of local government and provide 

the standardized format to these jurisdictions.2

This report contains the EAC’s third collection of 

UOCAVA data. The first report was based on data collected for the 2004 Federal Election. During this first data 

collection effort, it was determined that many States and 

local jurisdictions did not track the specific data required 

by HAVA, and that significant variation occurred across 

the States in the way the data were tracked. Similar variations affected data collection in 2006.3

 In addition, there 

currently is not a consistent means to accurately assess 

the number of overseas and uniformed services voters 

who may be covered by the Act. Unlike the data from the 

U.S. Census, there is no similar mechanism for measuring 

the number of civilian Americans living abroad. Further, 

it is difficult to gauge the number of domestic uniformed 

services voters who do not use UOCAVA’s provisions for 

voting and instead vote at polling places on Election Day. 

Consequently, readers should use caution when analyzing 

and presenting the data contained in this report. 

3. SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The 2008 edition of the Election Administration and Voting 

Survey was the result of discussions with State and local 

election officials, political scientists, researchers, members 

of election administration and advocacy groups, and the 

general public. Revisions to a draft survey were made following review by the EAC’s Standards Board and Board of 

Advisors.4 Notice of the 2008 survey was published in the 

Federal Register on March 20, 2008, and public comments 

solicited (73 FR 14974 (2000-03-20)). Final revisions were 

then made based on these comments, and the revised 

draft of the questionnaire was distributed to State officials 

in August and September 2008 for planning purposes.

The 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey 

was approved by the U.S. Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) on September 25, 2008 (OMB Control No. 

3265-0006, exp. 3/31/2009). The final, approved version of 

the survey contained 51 questions in the quantitative section, 20 of which related to implementation of UOCAVA. 

In addition, in 2008, for the first time, States were asked to 

report on their State laws, definitions, and procedures in 

the Statutory Overview. Responses to this portion of the 

survey are the basis of a separate report available from 

the EAC, and help to provide a better understanding of 

the data analyzed in this report. 

 Section B of the quantitative section of the 2008 survey 

(see Appendix A) covered questions relating to UOCAVA 

voters and ballots, and was significantly revised from the 

2006 survey:

• Questions B1 and B2 asked for information about 

the number and type of UOCAVA absentee ballots 

transmitted;

• Question B3 asked for the number and type of all 

UOCAVA ballots returned and submitted for counting;

• Questions B4 through B7 asked for the information 

on the type of UOCAVA ballot returned by type of 

UOCAVA voter;

• Question B8 asked for the number and type of all 

UOCAVA ballots counted;

• Questions B9 through B12 asked for information 

on the type of UOCAVA ballot counted by type of 

UOCAVA voter;

• Question B13 asked for the number and type of all 

UOCAVA ballots rejected;

• Question B14 asked for information on the reasons 

UOCAVA ballots were rejected;

2 See 42 U.S.C. §§ 15341-46 for more information on the Board of 

Advisors and Standards Board.

3 See U.S. EAC, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

Act, Survey Report Findings, September 2007.

4 The Standards Board is comprised of 110 State and local election 

officials, and the Board of Advisors is comprised of 37 members 

who represent various national associations, government agencies, and congressional leadership.
4 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

• Questions B15 through B18 asked for information 

on the type of UOCAVA ballot rejected by type of 

UOCAVA voter;

• Question B19 asked for information on how ballots 

were transmitted to UOCAVA voters; and

• Question B20 asked for information on the status of 

ballots automatically transmitted to UOCAVA voters. 

Changes From 2006

The 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey 

was substantially different from the 2006 version. New 

questions in 2008 included requests for information on 

automatically transmitted UOCAVA ballots, including the 

disposition of those ballots. The EAC also asked for more 

detailed breakdowns of both the type of ballots used by 

UOCAVA voters and the type of UOCAVA voter. 

Guide to Terms

For the purposes of the survey, the EAC provided the 

following definitions within the questionnaire and in supplemental instructions distributed to State election officials:

• Automatically transmitted ballots are those ballots that are transmitted to voters without a specific, 

one-time request; for example, ballots mailed to 

voters for the next two election cycles after a voters 

uses the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). 

• Spoiled ballots are ballots that, under the applicable State law, are incorrectly marked or impaired 

in some way by the voter and turned in by the voter 

at the polling place or mailed in absentee, with a 

replacement ballot issued so that the voter can correctly mark the ballot; also referred to in some States 

as a “voided” ballot.

• Ballots returned and submitted for counting

include all ballots returned by voters that were submitted to the counting process regardless of whether 

the ballots were later counted or rejected. Spoiled ballots, replaced ballots, and absentee ballots returned 

as undeliverable are discounted before the counting 

process and by this definition are not considered to 

be submitted for counting. Previous surveys and reports have referred to these as “ballots cast.”

• Counted ballots are ballots that have been processed and the votes included in the candidates’ 

vote totals.

• Rejected ballots are ballots that States determine do 

not meet the requirements of eligibility.

• Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is an 

emergency ballot available to uniformed services 

and overseas citizens (including those located at 

APO and FPO addresses) when they have properly 

requested but have not received a regular absentee 

ballot from their local jurisdiction in time to return it 

before the States’ deadline.

States’ Collection of UOCAVA Information

For 2008, the EAC continued its efforts to present the survey to State officials earlier in the election cycle, and to 

facilitate the task of responding by providing improved 

survey instruments and increased technical assistance. 

The primary survey instrument designed to assist the 

States in collecting and reporting their statistical data was 

a Microsoft Excel-based template, preloaded with each 

State’s jurisdictions. Most States chose to submit their data 

using this instrument. States were also offered a Microsoft 

Word-based template that could be distributed to their 

local jurisdictions, and States with single jurisdictions 

could report their totals through this instrument. Data were 

collected through uploads via the project Web site; other 

data were obtained via e-mail or fax. States were asked to 

send their responses to the EAC by February 13, 2009. Data 

collection continued through March and early April 2009, 

as States reviewed and corrected the data they had submitted. In some cases, States updated their responses with 

further information. Upon completion of the tables which 

accompany this report, States were invited to review and 

correct the tables and the comments following each table.

Election data collection varied significantly in the 55 

States and territories that responded to the 2008 survey. 

Most States relied at least to some degree on centralized 

voter registration databases (VRDs) and voter history databases, which allowed State election officials to respond 

to the survey at the local level for each question. Other 

States, conversely, collected relatively little election data 

at the State level, and instead relied on cooperation from 

county election offices to complete the survey. Some 

States did not collect data in all the categories requested 

in the survey, and others did not have data for all their 

local jurisdictions for all variables. Many respondents used 

the “other” categories provided in the survey instrument 

when their data coding did not match precisely with definitions offered by the survey. In these cases, readers are 

encouraged to reference the footnotes of the tables and the 

individual comments submitted by the States.
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The results of the UOCAVA questions in the 2008 

Election Administration and Voting Survey are presented 

in the tables at the end of this report and are summarized 

in Section 4. Complete results at the local level are also 

available on the EAC’s Web site at www.eac.gov.

Caution is necessary when interpreting the survey data, 

particularly when comparing the data from year to year or 

State to State, due to changes in State data collection practices across time and the varying levels of completeness 

in many States’ responses. Even in States with centralized 

VRDs, some data may be kept only at the local level, and 

the level of integration of information between local and 

State election offices varies across the country.5

Response Rates 

The 2008 survey instrument instructed States to check 

“N/A” if data were not available or if a question was not 

applicable to a State or county. If a State entered a “0,” that 

response was treated as a valid response equaling “0.” A 

“blank” response was treated as a nonresponse. 

State data collection and reporting of UOCAVA data 

markedly improved from the 2006 survey, but are still 

incomplete. Table 1 summarizes how many of the 4,517 jurisdictions6

 surveyed were able to provide data for selected 

questions. In most cases, response rates improved generally by more than 20 percentage points in absolute terms, 

and by as much as 50 percent in relative terms.7

4. SURVEY RESULTS

The process by which UOCAVA voters vote varies by State, 

and even within States. For the purposes of reporting the 

results of the 2008 survey, the process of voting under 

UOCAVA is presented as having 4 basic steps:

• the voter requests a ballot,

• the ballot is transmitted to the voter,

• the ballot is returned by the voter to the election 

office,

• the ballot is accepted and counted, or the ballot is 

rejected.

5 Users should also note that there may be slight discrepancies 

between totals that would appear to be the same; this occurs 

when, for example, States reported totals for a data element but 

had non-responses when breaking down the data element into 

subcategories, or when States provided different responses to 

questions asked more than once in the questionnaire. 

6 States were asked to provide data at the county, township or 

equivalent level. Some States reported statewide totals, either 

because of the lack of lower-scale jurisdictions or because of 

incomplete data reporting. 

7 For example, while an improvement from a 60% response rate 

in 2006 to 90% in 2008 would represent a 30 percentage point 

increase in absolute terms, it would also mean that 50% more 

jurisdictions responded.

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UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y findingS, novEmbEr 20 0 9

The results of the UOCAVA questions in the 2008 

Election Administration and Voting Survey are presented 

in the tables at the end of this report and are summarized 

in Section 4. Complete results at the local level are also 

available on the EAC’s Web site at www.eac.gov.

Caution is necessary when interpreting the survey data, 

particularly when comparing the data from year to year or 

State to State, due to changes in State data collection practices across time and the varying levels of completeness 

in many States’ responses. Even in States with centralized 

VRDs, some data may be kept only at the local level, and 

the level of integration of information between local and 

State election offices varies across the country.5

Response Rates 

The 2008 survey instrument instructed States to check 

“N/A” if data were not available or if a question was not 

applicable to a State or county. If a State entered a “0,” that 

response was treated as a valid response equaling “0.” A 

“blank” response was treated as a nonresponse. 

State data collection and reporting of UOCAVA data 

markedly improved from the 2006 survey, but are still 

incomplete. Table 1 summarizes how many of the 4,517 

5 Users should also note that there may be slight discrepancies 

between totals that would appear to be the same; this occurs 

when, for example, States reported totals for a data element but 

had non-responses when breaking down the data element into 

subcategories, or when States provided different responses to 

questions asked more than once in the questionnaire. 

jurisdictions6 surveyed were able to provide data for selected questions. In most cases, response rates improved 

generally by more than 20 percentage points in absolute 

terms, and by as much as 50 percent in relative terms.7

4. SUrvEy rESUltS

The process by which UOCAVA voters vote varies by State, 

and even within States. For the purposes of reporting the 

results of the 2008 survey, the process of voting under 

UOCAVA is presented as having 4 basic steps:

• the voter requests a ballot,

• the ballot is transmitted to the voter,

• the ballot is returned by the voter to the election 

office,

• the ballot is accepted and counted, or the ballot is 

rejected.

6 States were asked to provide data at the county, township or 

equivalent level. Some States reported statewide totals, either 

because of the lack of lower-scale jurisdictions or because of 

incomplete data reporting. 

7 For example, while an improvement from a 60% response rate 

in 2006 to 90% in 2008 would represent a 30 percentage point 

increase in absolute terms, it would also mean that 50% more 

jurisdictions responded.

Table 1. Selected Response Rates on UOCAVA Questions, 2008 and 2006

UOCAVA question

2008 Response rate 2006 Response rate

Jurisdictions responding (out of 4,517) Percent Percent Increase in percentage points

Overseas citizen ballots transmitted 4,131 91 64 +27 

Overseas citizen ballots cast 3,764 83 62 +21

Overseas citizen ballots counted 3,717 82 62 +20

Uniformed services ballots transmitted 4,217 93 56/65* +37/+28

Uniformed services ballots cast 3,793 84 54/62* +30/+22

Uniformed services ballots counted 3,806 84 54/62* +30/+22

Overseas citizen FWABs cast 3,003 66 47 +19

Uniformed services FWABs cast 3,077 68 41/49* +27/+19

*In 2006, the survey asked States to separate domestic and overseas uniformed services ballots. Both figures are given in the table. Also, the 2006 

response rate listed for ballots transmitted is the response rate for the questions that asked for the number of ballots requested.
6 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 

WA

61934

OR

12179

CA

102983

NV

7483 UT

4859

WY

1710

ND

1339

SD

3383

NE

3352

KS

6613

OK

8368

AR

6515

LA

9221

MO

16561

IA

5877

MN

15870

WI

10102

IL

26316

KY

6576

IN

15420

OH

32334

MI

21299

PA

40279

WV

4194

NY

83422

VT

2546

1

NH

422

VA

41762

TN

18686

MS

5660

AL

9361 GA 25035

FL

121395

SC

12134

NC

19109

TX

91106

CO

16251

NM

3271

AZ

14322

ID

3679

MT

5385

Ke

Number of Ballots Transmitted to UOCAVA Voters

2008 Election

AK

13766

HI

3800
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UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

I. Ballot Requests

UOCAVA voters may receive their ballots in several ways. 

UOCAVA provides for the automatic transmission of 

ballots for two election cycles to voters who register an 

overseas address using the Federal Post Card Application 

(FPCA) See 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff-3(a). Overseas voters may 

also request a ballot by applying to their local election office before a specific election and then they receive a ballot 

for each election over the next two Federal election cycles. 

In 2008, just under 1 million ballots were reported as 

being transmitted to UOCAVA voters. Of this number, 

345,772 (or 35.0%) were transmitted as a result of a onetime request by the voter (see Table 7). Another 231,324 

(or 23.4%) were automatically transmitted under the FPCA 

requirements of UOCAVA.8

Tracking of the source of ballot requests remains incomplete across the country. Roughly one-third of States 

did not report breakdowns of the sources of their ballots 

requests, and 29.4 percent of ballots were not categorized 

with a source. 

Seventeen States, 3 territories and the District of 

Columbia had a plurality or majority of ballot requests 

come from one-time requests from voters in 2008. Another 

13 States reported that a majority of their ballot requests 

came from voters who were automatically sent their ballots as part of the two Federal election cycle provisions of 

UOCAVA. This was the first year that the EAC asked specifically about automatically requested ballots.

II. Ballots Transmitted

States reported transmitting 989,208 ballots, spread unevenly over the 55 States, territories, and the District of 

Columbia, with five States reporting transmitting more 

than 60,000 ballots. Together, Florida, California, Texas, 

New York, and Washington accounted for nearly half of all 

UOCAVA ballots transmitted in the United States.

Florida 121,395

California 102,983

Texas 91,106

New York 83,422

Washington 61,934

About half of ballots transmitted (480,757, or 48.6%) 

were sent to members of the uniformed services (see Table 

8). Another 37.9 percent of the ballots were sent to civilians living overseas. At the State level, more than half of 

the States reported that uniformed services voters made 

up a majority of their UOCAVA ballots transmitted, although the proportions varied by State. In California, for 

example, UOCAVA ballots were split about evenly between 

uniformed services and civilian voters, while in Florida, 

members of the uniformed services were sent more than 

70 percent of UOCAVA ballots. Of the 25 States that transmitted more than 10,000 UOCAVA ballots, 8 reported 

sending more to civilian voters than uniformed services 

voters: Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, 

New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Virginia. 

2.2%

37.9%

11.3%

48.6%

Ballots Transmitted

Uniform Services

Other Voter

Overseas Civilians

Not Categorized

The 2008 survey found that nearly all States were able 

to provide data concerning the UOCAVA ballots transmitted by type of voter. Three States did not report data on the 

type of voter, and two States had a majority of their transmitted ballots uncategorized as to the type of voter.

III. Ballots Submitted for Counting

The disposition of ballots transmitted is detailed in Table 9. 

States reported that 682,341 ballots, or 69.0 percent, were 

returned and submitted for counting. Although four States 

8 The number of automatically-transmitted ballots far exceeds 

usage of the FPCA, suggesting that States may extend automatic 

ballot transmission to UOCAVA voters regardless of whether they 

use the FPCA.
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UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

did not report any disposition of their transmitted ballots, 

UOCAVA voters are concentrated in large States and States 

with large uniformed services installations.

The rate of return was generally consistent across the 

States. In addition to the ballots returned and submitted 

for counting, another 14.1 percent of ballots were reported 

to have an unknown status, which may have included 

ballots not received or returned. 11.3 percent of the ballots transmitted were unable to be categorized as to their 

disposition. Smaller percentages of ballots were returned 

as undeliverable (1.9%) or represented spoiled or replaced 

ballots (1.4%); although fewer States were able to provide 

data for these last 2 categories.

Twenty-nine States provided data on the disposition 

of those UOCAVA ballots transmitted automatically (see 

Table 10). Of the 231,324 automatically transmitted ballots, 64.9 percent were returned for counting, and one fifth 

(20.8%) were not returned or their status was unknown. 

The data suggest that automatically transmitted ballots 

appeared to have slightly higher rates of non-return than 

UOCAVA ballots generally.

The proportion of ballots submitted for counting between members of the uniformed services and civilian 

voters was roughly the same as for ballots transmitted (see 

Table 11). Members of the uniformed services comprised 

47.2 percent (320,950 ballots) of the ballots submitted for 

counting, while civilians comprised 40.2 percent (273,408 

ballots) of the 680,460 total ballots submitted. Among 

the States with the most UOCAVA voters, New York and 

California reported having more civilian than uniformed 

services ballots submitted, while the opposite was true 

for Texas and Florida. Overall, 30 States and 1 territory 

reported more uniformed services ballots submitted than 

civilian, while 12 States, the District of Columbia and 1 

territory had more civilian ballots than uniformed services 

ballots submitted.

The rate of return of UOCAVA ballots in 2008 was significantly greater than in the midterm election in 2006. 

In 2006, the EAC survey results indicated that only one 

quarter of UOCAVA ballots requested were returned for 

counting.9

 This may be a function of typically higher voter 

turnout in Presidential elections compared with voter 

turnout in non-Presidential Federal elections. In addition, lower voter turnout in 2006 likely resulted in fewer 

automatic requests. The data do not provide sufficient 

information to determine the degree to which any improvements in the overseas balloting process may have 

contributed to higher return rates.

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots

Section 103 of UOCAVA generally provides a mechanism 

for overseas uniformed services and civilian voters to cast 

a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) as a kind of 

“backup” ballot. See 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff-2. These ballots are 

available to uniformed services voters and voters living 

outside the United States who requested but did not receive 

the regular absentee ballots after having made a timely application for the ballot. The FWAB allows voters to cast a 

ballot for Federal offices only (President/Vice-President as 

applicable, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Delegate or 

Resident Commissioner). Some States allow members of the 

uniformed services and overseas citizens to use the FWAB 

for other offices or for elections other than Federal elections. 

The use of the FWAB is allowed only under certain conditions. The FWAB is available through Voting Assistance 

Officers (VAOs) at military installations or at U.S. embassies 

or consulates. The absentee uniformed services voter must:

• be absent from his or her voting residence;

• have applied for a regular ballot early enough 

so that the request is received by the appropriate local election officer not later than the State 

deadline; or the date that is 30 days before the 

general election; AND

• have not received the requested regular absentee 

ballot from the State.

The citizen outside the United States must:

• be located outside the United States (including 

those located at APO/FPO addresses);

• have applied for a regular ballot early enough 

so that the request is received by the appropriate local election officer not later than the State 

deadline; or the date that is 30 days before the 

general election; AND

• have not received the requested regular absentee 

ballot from the State (42 U.S.C. § 1973ff).

Most of the ballots submitted by UOCAVA voters were 

absentee ballots issued by the local election office (see 

Table 12), rather than through the use of the FWAB. States 

reported that 72.9 percent of the ballots submitted were 

regular absentee ballots issued by the jurisdiction. States 

9 In 2006, the survey asked States to report how many ballots were 

requested, not transmitted. There is no indication that State 

and local offices do not act on requests; therefore, the numbers 

should be equivalent.
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR A

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WA

151.1

OR

0.0

CA

93.6

NV

97.8 UT

97.0

WY

95.5

ND

98.3

SD

90.2

NE

92.2

KS

159.0

OK

94.0

AR

91.0

LA

93.1

MO

87.2

IA

91.8

MN

93.1

WI

92.2

IL

0.0

KY

0.0

IN

63.5

OH

95.8

MI

100.0

PA

99.5

WV

59.6

NY

92.3

VT

98.8

VA

98.5

TN

0.0

MS

165.3

AL

0.0

GA

97.7

FL

97.7

SC

98.9

NC

95.5

TX

80.6

CO

88.2

NM

82.2

AZ

98.4

ID

86.4

MT

93.2

Percentage of UOCAVA Ballots Submitted that were Counted

2008 Election

AK

95.7

HI

100.0

Note: Reports of 0% or more than 100% are the result of inconsistencies in data collection; for example, reporting UOCAVA ballots counted but not ballots submitted, or not reporting data for ballots counted. In these cases, reference to the States’ county-level data will be necessary.
10 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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also reported that 28,131 FWABs were submitted, which 

accounted for 4.1 percent of the total number of UOCAVA 

ballots submitted for counting. Texas reported the highest 

use of the FWAB, with 5,013 such ballots, or 7.2 percent 

of the total UOCAVA ballots submitted for counting in all 

States. Five States and D.C. reported that more than 10 percent of their absentee ballots were FWAB ballots. Eleven 

States were unable to provide the type of ballot used by 

UOCAVA voters, and the detailed data from other States 

and territories tallied to more than their reported totals.

FWAB usage remains a relatively small proportion of 

UOCAVA voting for both uniformed services and civilian 

voters. FWABs were 4.1 percent of the total ballots submitted for counting by uniformed services voters, and 3.4 

percent by civilian UOCAVA voters. Tables 13 and 14 break 

down the type of ballot submitted by members of the uniformed services and civilian UOCAVA voters, respectively.

IV. Ballots Counted and Rejected

Of the 680,463 total ballots submitted by UOCAVA voters, 

637,216, or 93.6 percent, were counted by the States (see 

Table 19).10 Military voters made up a larger share of the 

votes counted than civilian voters, 48.6 to 41.2 percent (see 

Table 15). Use of the FWAB resulted in at least 25,538 ballots being counted in the 2008 election; this figure may be 

higher due to some States’ lack of data on the breakdown 

of their UOCAVA ballots (see Table 16). 

Forty-eight States or territories reported the total 

number of UOCAVA ballots counted, and the rates varied 

among States (see Table 19), with most States in the range 

of 90 to 100 percent. However, New Jersey and West Virginia 

reported that less than 60 percent of UOCAVA ballots were 

counted. Five States and 1 territory reported zeros for the 

number of UOCAVA ballots that were counted. Some States’ 

UOCAVA data was insufficient or incomplete, indicating a 

continuing difficulty in collecting and reporting UOCAVA 

data. As an example, 3 States and the District of Columbia 

reported more ballots counted than cast. 

In the 2008 Federal election, 44 States reported rejecting 39,533 UOCAVA ballots that had been submitted for 

counting. Data on these rejections are presented in Tables 

21 through 25.

Uniformed services and civilian voters made up approximately the same percentage of rejected ballots as 

they did ballots cast and ballots counted (47.4% were 

uniformed services and 36.1% were civilian). Thirtynine States, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories 

reported breakdowns of their rejected ballots into these 

two categories. 

Notably, and consistent with past survey data, FWABs 

faced a higher rejection rate than regular State absentee 

ballots. FWABs made up 15.8 percent of rejected UOCAVA 

ballots, although they were only 4.0 percent of the ballots 

submitted for counting. States reported receiving 28,131 

FWABs and rejecting 6,227, or 22.1%, although the actual 

percentage rejected may be higher. The EAC received data 

from 36 States and the District of Columbia on the number of FWABs submitted for counting, but only 30 States 

provided data on the number of FWABs they rejected. 

10.7%

43.7%

2.2%

31.2%

12.2%

UOCAVA Rejected Ballots – Reasons

Problem with Voter Signature

Ballot Lacked a Postmark

Other Reason

Not Catergorized

Not Received on Time or Missed Deadline

10 The reported percentages of UOCAVA ballots that were counted 

does not take into account whether the same number of 

cases (generally, counties) were used in both the numerator 

and denominator. For example, nationwide, Table 19 reports 

94.6 percent of UOCAVA ballots counted as a percentage of 

those cast. However, AL, IL, and KY did not report any data on 

UOCAVA ballots counted. If these three States are removed, 

then the percentage of ballots counted increases to 99.6 percent. 

However, sometimes these differences are not apparent--AR, 

CA, NM, NV, OH, SD, TX, WA, and WV report ballots counted 

from fewer jurisdictions than they do for ballots cast, while 

KS, RI, and TN do the opposite. Differences in the response 

rates within States for individual data items appear throughout 

the NVRA, UOCAVA, and Election Administration and Voting 

Survey. Data for all three studies are available on the EAC’s Web 

site at www.eac.gov.
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 11

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Of particular interest is the reason UOCAVA ballots 

were rejected. Data on this topic are presented in Table 

25. The most common reason for the rejection of UOCAVA 

ballots was missed deadlines: 43.7 percent of the 39,530 

rejected ballots were not counted for this reason. 

Another 4,230 ballots (or 10.7%) were rejected because 

of problems with a required voter signature; for example, 

the signature may not have matched the signature on file, 

or it may have been missing altogether. States reported a 

wide variety of other reasons for rejecting UOCAVA ballots; 

these are listed in the county-level data available from the 

EAC’s Web site at www.eac.gov. 

Several States rejected UOCAVA ballots at higher 

rates when compared to other States’ data, as measured 

by the ratio of rejected to counted UOCAVA ballots (see 

Tables 26 through 28). The District of Columbia rejected 

1,556 UOCAVA ballots while counting 2,740. Nearly all of 

the rejected ballots in the District of Columbia were not 

counted because of missed deadlines. Indiana rejected 

3,980 UOCAVA ballots and counted 5,167. Idaho rejected 

394 ballots while counting 2,665. 

5. CONCLUSIONS

States reported transmitting nearly 1 million UOCAVA ballots to overseas civilian and uniformed services voters in 

2008, and more than 680,000 of these ballots were returned 

and submitted for counting by voters. The fate of the other, 

more than 300,000 ballots is difficult to discern; unless ballots are returned as undeliverable or spoiled, States have 

few means to track them.

States’ collecting and reporting UOCAVA data is improving. For the 2008 Federal election, in key categories, nearly all 

States were able to report totals, generally at the county level. 

For example, all 55 States and Territories and the District of 

Columbia were able to report the number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted, and 50 were able to report the number of 

UOCAVA ballots submitted for counting. At more detailed 

levels, however, the need for improvements in data collection 

remains. For example, nearly half the States and territories 

surveyed were not able to provide sufficient data on the number of FWABs rejected, and more complete data may provide 

a clearer picture of the reasons for the nearly four times higher 

rejection rate for FWABs than for other UOCAVA ballots. 

The analysis presented here is a high level analysis of 

the results of the UOCAVA data provided by States for the 

2008 Federal election. Valuable lessons can be learned 

from a careful examination not only of the State totals presented in the tables accompanying this report, but from an 

analysis of the county- (or equivalent) level data available 

on the EAC Web site at www.eac.gov. 

6. MOVING FORWARD 

The quality of information regarding UOCAVA ballots is 

improving, and the 2008 survey yielded a more complete 

picture of UOCAVA balloting than past surveys. States in 

general are making significant strides in designing their 

data management systems to produce the necessary data 

on UOCAVA voters. Gaps in State tracking of UOCAVA 

voters remain, however, and continued attention to data 

collection on UOCAVA voters and ballots is needed. The 

EAC will continue to work with States to seek ways to distinguish UOCAVA ballots from domestic civilian absentee 

ballots; refine their categorizations, particularly for the reasons ballots are rejected; and improve tracking of FWABs.

Recent research, including this report, is beginning 

to provide a more complete picture of UOCAVA voting. 

Overseas eligible voters are harder to reach and study than 

those living in the United States. Consequently, very little 

is known about why the number of UOCAVA ballots cast is 

so much lower than the number of eligible voters overseas. 

The EAC is committed to facilitating State and local efforts 

to collect and report complete EAC survey data on overseas and military voting in an effort to increase compliance 

with statutory reporting requirements and provide an even 

better picture of UOCAVA voting over time. To this end, 

the EAC has discussed with the Federal Voting Assistance 

Program (FVAP) the possibility of working collaboratively 

to make the States’ collection of data on UOCAVA voting 

more efficient in the future.
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Footnotes to Tables

General Notes:

State: In the interest of consistency in these tables, the term State includes the District of Columbia and the four territories 

of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

Jurisdictions in the Survey. For the 2008 survey, information was requested for each local election administration jurisdiction. Generally this would be the county or county equivalent. The following exceptions may apply (exceptions are noted 

by an asterisk below the State name in Table 1a): 

a) in some states the information was initially compiled by town/city or township; 

b) in some states independent cities were treated as counties; 

c) in some states the only response was one record for the state, and;

d) in some states the information collected from the towns/cities or townships but was summarized by county.

States in which the town/city or township is the initial unit of collection include the six states in New England and a handful of states in the Midwest. Independent cities were treated as county-level reporting units for the states of Maryland, 

Virginia, Missouri and Nevada. Selected Election Boards in Illinois and Missouri were also treated as county jurisdictions. 

State-level information was provided for Alaska which does not have counties. Coverage for the territories varied. See 

Table 6 for more detail.

Missing Data: Information for several items remains unavailable for several reasons. When information is missing this 

status may be reflected in various ways but generally by a blank data cell or a zero value. Note that a zero value may also 

indicate that the jurisdiction Does Not Know, or Does Not Collect, the information. The count of cases, included for most 

tables but not for all variables, generally reflects the presence of a response from the jurisdiction. For many questions, 0 is 

a valid response but there is also inconsistency in the entry for the Not Available option. Researchers should consult the 

jurisdiction-level dataset for more detail. If a calculation is impossible because of missing information, a separate symbol 

may be indicated, e.g., a series of periods (......).

Sum of Above: The information listed in the tables below the state detail is, for most columns, simply the addition of the 

information listed in the table. The number of states providing information is indicated as the count of states with information greater than, or in some cases, less than, 0. The percentages indicated on this line are generally the result of a simple 

division based upon the appropriate numbers from this line. For the Not Categorized columns, the number and percentage in the Sum of Above line will generally reflect a calculation of the appropriate fields listed on this line.

Specific Notes for Tables: Notes specific to each table appear following each table or group of sub-tables.
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 13

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Cross Reference of Survey Questions to Tables

Question B1 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and type of voter

• Table 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of Request

• Table 8. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Type of Voter

• Table 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of Ballots

• Table 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, All Voters

• Table 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Non-Military Voters

Question B2 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and disposition of the ballot

• Table 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of Ballots

Question B3 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting

• Table 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Voter

• Table 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of Voter

• Table 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, All Voters

Question B4 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting by 

type of voter, all ballots

• Table 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Voter

• Table 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of Voter

• Table 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B5 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting by 

type of voter, absentee ballots

• Table 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B6 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting by 

type of voter, FWAB

• Table 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B7 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting by 

type of voter, other ballots

• Table 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters
14 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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Cross Reference of Survey Questions to Tables (continued)

Question B8 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted

• Table 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Voter

• Table 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of Voter

• Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

• Table 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, All Voters

Question B9 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of voter, all ballots

• Table 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Voter

• Table 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of Voter

• Table 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B10 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of voter, absentee ballots

• Table 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

Question B11 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of voter, FWAB

• Table 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

Question B12 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of voter, other ballots

• Table 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

Question B13 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected

• Table 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Voter

• Table 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for Rejection

• Table 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, All Voters

Question B14 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by reason for rejection

• Table 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for Rejection

Question B15 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of voter, all ballots

• Table 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Voter

• Table 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Non-military/Civilian Voters
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 15

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Cross Reference of Survey Questions to Tables (continued)

Question B16 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of voter, absentee ballots

• Table 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B17 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of voter, FWAB

• Table 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B18 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of voter, other ballots

• Table 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

Question B19 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and the source of the request

• Table 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of Request

• Table 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of Ballots

Question B20 --- Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted automatically and disposition of the ballot

• Table 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of Ballots
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Appendix A – Tables

• Table 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of Request

• Table 8. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Type of Voter

• Table 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of Ballots

• Table 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of Ballots

• Table 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Voter

• Table 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Voter

• Table 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of Voter

• Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

• Table 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Voter

• Table 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All Voters

• Table 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian Voters

• Table 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for Rejection

• Table 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, All Voters

• Table 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Uniformed Services Voters

• Table 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast, Counted, or Rejected as % of Transmitted, Non-military/Civilian Voters
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of RequestState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Total Ballots Transmitted

Source of Ballot Request 

One-time Request for 2008 Elections Automatic Request for Two-Election Cycle Other Source (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 9,361 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Alaska 1 13,766 1 12,823 1 93.1 943 1 6.9 0 0 Arizona 15 14,322 15 2,423 10 16.9 7,169 10 50.1 4,730 14 Arkansas 75 6,515 68 25,615 48 393.2 985 41 15.1 22 2 California 58 102,983 58 33,375 38 32.4 60,422 44 58.7 5,742 9 Colorado 64 16,251 64 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 16,251 64 Connecticut 169 5,341 169 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Delaware 3 2,115 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 District of Columbia 1 2,906 1 2,906 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 121,395 67 54,415 66 44.8 28,586 67 23.5 1,286 66 Georgia 159 25,035 159 25,035 159 100.0 0 159 0.0 0 159 Hawaii 4 3,800 4 19 1 0.5 2,525 2 66.4 0 0 Idaho 44 3,679 44 1,047 44 28.5 2,632 44 71.5 0 0 Illinois 1 26,316 1 7,943 1 30.2 16,159 1 61.4 0 0 Indiana 92 15,420 92 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Iowa 99 5,877 99 0 0 0.0 5,877 99 100.0 0 0 Kansas 105 6,613 101 1,233 98 18.6 5,412 98 81.8 0 0 Kentucky 120 6,576 120 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Louisiana 64 9,221 64 7,331 64 79.5 1,890 64 20.5 0 0 Maine 499 2,095 499 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 2,095 499 Maryland 24 17,459 24 11,042 24 63.2 6,396 24 36.6 23 24 Massachusetts 351 16,900 351 10,568 351 62.5 6,272 351 37.1 0 0 Michigan 83 21,299 83 17,269 83 81.1 4,030 83 18.9 0 0 Minnesota 87 15,869 87 3,462 87 21.8 12,407 87 78.2 0 87 Mississippi 82 5,660 44 645 32 11.4 1,465 25 25.9 4 7 

Missouri 116 16,561 116 3,929 89 23.7 8,354 86 50.4 1 1 Montana 56 5,385 55 0 0 0.0 5,385 55 100.0 0 0 

Nebraska 93 3,352 93 2,956 93 88.2 396 93 11.8 0 0 Nevada 17 7,483 17 773 9 10.3 963 9 12.9 5,747 17 New Hampshire 323 4,221 323 2,785 323 66.0 1,436 323 34.0 0 0 New Jersey 21 18,725 21 17,507 21 93.5 1,218 21 6.5 0 0 New Mexico 33 3,271 22 766 15 23.4 906 15 27.7 0 4 New York 1 83,422 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 83,422 1 North Carolina 100 19,109 100 18,350 100 96.0 759 100 4.0 0 0 
18 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of RequestState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Total Ballots Transmitted

Source of Ballot Request 

One-time Request for 2008 Elections Automatic Request for Two-Election Cycle Other Source (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,339 53 1,339 53 100.0 0 53 0.0 0 53 

Ohio 88 32,334 87 16,341 71 50.5 10,105 71 31.3 721 29 Oklahoma 77 8,368 77 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Oregon 36 12,179 36 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 40,279 67 40,250 67 99.9 29 67 0.1 0 0 Rhode Island 39 1,125 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Carolina 46 12,134 46 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 3,383 59 1,210 32 35.8 576 28 17.0 546 6 Tennessee 95 18,686 95 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Texas 254 91,106 248 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Utah 29 4,859 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 2,546 246 0 246 0.0 2,539 245 99.7 0 0 Virginia 134 41,762 134 12,858 133 30.8 28,904 128 69.2 0 0 Washington 39 61,934 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 West Virginia 55 4,194 40 877 17 20.9 702 17 16.7 628 19 Wisconsin 72 10,102 72 5,565 72 55.1 4,537 72 44.9 Wyoming 23 1,710 23 403 23 23.6 1,315 23 76.9 0 0 American Samoa 1 310 1 280 1 90.3 30 1 9.7 0 1 Guam 1 337 1 337 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 2,095 1 2,095 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 0 Virgin Islands 1 122 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 989,207 4,427 345,772 2,475 35.0 231,324 2,608 23.4 121,218 1,062 States Included 55 35 33 14 Question B1a B19a B19b B19c 
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Table 7. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Source of Request

Questions B1, B19. Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and the source of the request.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

California --- One county automatically categorizes all stateside military, overseas military, and civilian military as permanent absentee voters.

Colorado --- Due to migration of county data in 2007 as the state transitioned from independent county VR systems to a 

centralized state system, Colorado cannot produce consistent statistics on UOCAVA absentee request dates over a two year 

period.

Maryland --- Data in B19a includes: (1) requests for the 2008 election only; and (2) requests for 2008 election and automatic request for 2010 election.

Missouri --- Two counties reported that every UOCAVA absentee request is for two years. Another reported that most 

1 time requests have been moved to automatic 2 year requests. One county could not separate 1 time requests and 

automatic.

Oklahoma --- Oklahoma treats all UOCAVA ballot transmissions as automatic.

Washington --- One county included replacement ballots sent in B1a.

Puerto Rico --- Puerto Rico only conducts federal elections every four years with the General Elections. Voters must request an absentee ballot every election. CEE sends a letter to the voters that requested an absentee ballot the prior election 

asking them to certify their status.
20 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 8. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Type of VoterState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Total Ballots Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters by Type of Voter 

Uniformed Services Domestic or Overseas Non-military/Civilian Overseas Other Voter (See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 9,361 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Alaska 1 13,766 1 11,882 1 86.3 1,884 1 13.7 0 0 Arizona 15 14,322 15 7,727 15 54.0 6,560 15 45.8 35 14 Arkansas 75 6,515 68 4,338 69 66.6 1,172 66 18.0 29 2 California 58 102,983 58 50,886 55 49.4 48,820 55 47.4 1,957 8 Colorado 64 16,251 64 5,104 55 31.4 9,257 48 57.0 1,890 40 Connecticut 169 5,341 169 1,161 169 21.7 4,180 169 78.3 0 0 Delaware 3 2,115 3 1,205 3 57.0 910 3 43.0 0 0 District of Columbia 1 2,906 1 260 1 8.9 2,646 1 91.1 0 0 Florida 67 121,395 67 86,926 67 71.6 34,424 67 28.4 45 67 Georgia 159 25,035 159 16,215 159 64.8 8,820 159 35.2 0 159 Hawaii 4 3,800 4 1,837 4 48.3 1,963 4 51.7 0 0 Idaho 44 3,679 44 2,577 44 70.0 1,102 44 30.0 0 0 Illinois 1 26,316 1 9,858 1 37.5 5,469 1 20.8 10,989 1 Indiana 92 15,420 92 9,623 92 62.4 5,014 92 32.5 0 0 Iowa 99 5,877 99 3,180 99 54.1 2,697 99 45.9 0 0 Kansas 105 6,613 101 3,587 105 54.2 2,178 98 32.9 0 0 Kentucky 120 6,576 120 4,723 120 71.8 1,853 120 28.2 0 0 Louisiana 64 9,221 64 6,796 64 73.7 2,425 64 26.3 0 0 Maine 499 2,095 499 762 499 36.4 1,333 499 63.6 0 0 Maryland 24 17,459 24 5,556 24 31.8 11,903 24 68.2 0 0 Massachusetts 351 16,900 351 2,711 351 16.0 14,402 351 85.2 0 0 Michigan 83 21,299 83 12,840 83 60.3 8,459 83 39.7 0 0 Minnesota 87 15,869 87 5,745 87 36.2 10,124 87 63.8 0 0 Mississippi 82 5,660 44 1,748 42 30.9 318 34 5.6 623 2 

Missouri 116 16,561 116 10,177 116 61.5 5,090 108 30.7 5 1 Montana 56 5,385 55 4,175 55 77.5 1,210 55 22.5 0 0 Nebraska 93 3,352 93 2,119 93 63.2 1,233 93 36.8 0 0 Nevada 17 7,483 17 4,919 17 65.7 2,562 17 34.2 2 3 New Hampshire 323 4,221 323 2,640 323 62.5 1,581 323 37.5 0 0 New Jersey 21 18,725 21 4,453 21 23.8 8,936 21 47.7 59 21 New Mexico 33 3,271 22 743 19 22.7 291 19 8.9 0 1 New York 1 83,422 1 22,900 1 27.5 60,522 1 72.5 0 0 

North Carolina 100 19,109 100 13,508 100 70.7 5,601 100 29.3 0 0 
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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 8. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Type of VoterState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Total Ballots Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters by Type of Voter 

Uniformed Services Domestic or Overseas Non-military/Civilian Overseas Other Voter (See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,339 53 913 53 68.2 426 53 31.8 0 53 

Ohio 88 32,334 87 13,317 85 41.2 13,134 85 40.6 5,854 24 Oklahoma 77 8,368 77 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Oregon 36 12,179 36 5,951 36 48.9 6,228 36 51.1 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 40,279 67 23,100 67 57.3 17,184 67 42.7 0 0 Rhode Island 39 1,125 39 1,087 39 96.6 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Carolina 46 12,134 46 8,935 46 73.6 3,199 46 26.4 0 0 South Dakota 66 3,383 59 2,776 52 82.1 472 43 14.0 8 5 Tennessee 95 18,686 95 14,454 95 77.4 4,232 95 22.6 0 0 Texas 254 91,106 248 53,058 243 58.2 23,200 242 25.5 0 0 Utah 29 4,859 29 2,146 29 44.2 2,713 29 55.8 0 0 Vermont 246 2,546 246 830 246 32.6 1,716 246 67.4 0 0 Virginia 134 41,762 134 20,738 134 49.7 21,024 134 50.3 0 0 Washington 39 61,934 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 West Virginia 55 4,194 40 2,053 39 49.0 321 35 7.7 0 0 Wisconsin 72 10,102 72 5,565 72 55.1 4,537 72 44.9 0 0 Wyoming 23 1,710 23 1,376 23 80.5 334 23 19.5 0 0 American Samoa 1 310 1 259 1 83.5 51 1 16.5 0 1 Guam 1 337 1 170 1 50.4 167 1 49.6 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 2,095 1 1,031 1 49.2 1,064 1 50.8 0 0 Virgin Islands 1 122 1 117 1 95.9 14 1 11.5 0 1 Sum of Above 4,517 989,207 4,427 480,757 4,217 48.6 374,955 4,131 37.9 21,496 403 States Included 55 52 51 12 Question B1a B1b B1c B1d+e 
2 2 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 8. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Type of Voter

Question B1. Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and type of voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

California --- One county only reported the total of UOCAVA ballots automatically transmitted, not those by request. Two 

counties included second ballots in their totals.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions in Illinois did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas they were 

seemly lumped in a “UOCAVA” file that is now B1d.

Mississippi --- One county grouped both military and non-military under uniformed.

South Dakota --- One county transmitted 2 additional ballots that were not reported in the numbers.

Washington --- One county included replacement ballots sent in B1a.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of BallotsState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Total Ballots 

Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters and Disposition 

Returned and Submitted 

for Counting Returned as Undeliverable Spoiled or Replaced Ballots

Status Unknown (Not 

Returned)

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. To

Alabama 67 9,361 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Alaska 1 13,766 1 11,637 1 84.5 244 1 1.8 268 1 1.9 1,617 1 11.7 

Arizona 15 14,322 15 9,081 15 63.4 376 12 2.6 58 12 0.4 3,400 13 23.7 1,4

Arkansas 75 6,515 68 4,549 67 69.8 178 59 2.7 70 51 1.1 1,315 55 20.2 

California 58 102,983 58 64,514 57 62.6 3,054 49 3.0 640 34 0.6 19,285 52 18.7 4,1

Colorado 64 16,251 64 11,987 59 73.8 224 21 1.4 916 40 5.6 3,124 52 19.2 

Connecticut 169 5,341 169 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Delaware 3 2,115 3 1,638 3 77.4 4 3 0.2 0 0 0.0 473 3 22.4 

District of Columbia 1 2,906 1 1,350 1 46.5 222 1 7.6 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1,3

Florida 67 121,395 67 95,144 67 78.4 2,064 67 1.7 5,619 67 4.6 18,525 67 15.3 

Georgia 159 25,035 159 17,193 159 68.7 483 159 1.9 16 159 0.1 0 0 0.0 7,3

Hawaii 4 3,800 4 2,386 2 62.8 5 1 0.1 5 1 0.1 3 1 0.1 

Idaho 44 3,679 44 2,843 44 77.3 91 44 2.5 20 44 0.5 725 44 19.7 

Illinois 1 26,316 1 17,372 1 66.0 481 1 1.8 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Indiana 92 15,420 92 8,145 92 52.8 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Iowa 99 5,877 99 4,408 99 75.0 70 99 1.2 0 0 0.0 1,399 99 23.8 

Kansas 105 6,613 101 5,231 103 79.1 225 90 3.4 360 84 5.4 1,712 97 25.9 

Kentucky 120 6,576 120 4,933 120 75.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1,645 120 25.0 

Louisiana 64 9,221 64 6,538 64 70.9 207 64 2.2 0 64 0.0 2,466 64 26.7 

Maine 499 2,095 499 1,493 499 71.3 18 499 0.9 243 499 11.6 341 499 16.3 

Maryland 24 17,459 24 14,419 24 82.6 228 24 1.3 0 0 0.0 2,812 24 16.1 

Massachusetts 351 16,900 351 12,498 351 74.0 347 351 2.1 123 351 0.7 3,845 351 22.8 

Michigan 83 21,299 83 15,476 83 72.7 370 83 1.7 345 83 1.6 3,945 83 18.5 1,1

Minnesota 87 15,869 87 11,460 87 72.2 399 87 2.5 43 87 0.3 3,980 87 25.1 

Mississippi 82 5,660 44 1,329 40 23.5 54 27 1.0 3 24 0.1 410 30 7.2 

Missouri 116 16,561 116 13,400 116 80.9 371 103 2.2 449 98 2.7 1,733 88 10.5 

Montana 56 5,385 55 3,638 55 67.5 582 55 10.8 68 55 1.3 1,097 55 20.4 

Nebraska 93 3,352 93 2,721 93 81.2 72 93 2.1 22 93 0.7 537 93 16.0 

Nevada 17 7,483 17 4,681 17 62.6 480 17 6.4 77 16 1.0 2,245 17 30.0 

New Hampshire 323 4,221 323 3,462 323 82.0 91 323 2.2 0 0 0.0 668 323 15.8 

New Jersey 21 18,725 21 12,811 21 68.4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 5,914 21 31.6 

New Mexico 33 3,271 22 1,654 20 50.6 39 11 1.2 1 9 0.0 47 11 1.4 2

New York 1 83,422 1 54,220 1 65.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 4,1

North Carolina 100 19,109 100 12,811 100 67.0 485 100 2.5 454 100 2.4 4,935 100 25.8 4
24 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of BallotsState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Total Ballots 

Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters and Disposition 

Returned and Submitted 

for Counting Returned as Undeliverable Spoiled or Replaced Ballots

Status Unknown (Not 

Returned)

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. To

North Dakota 53 1,339 53 1,026 53 76.6 1 53 0.1 8 53 0.6 304 53 22.7 

Ohio 88 32,334 87 26,114 86 80.8 460 72 1.4 834 68 2.6 3,781 80 11.7 6

Oklahoma 77 8,368 77 6,048 77 72.3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Oregon 36 12,179 36 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Pennsylvania 67 40,279 67 31,970 67 79.4 288 67 0.7 85 67 0.2 7,935 67 19.7 

Rhode Island 39 1,125 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

South Carolina 46 12,134 46 8,943 46 73.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

South Dakota 66 3,383 59 2,785 49 82.3 134 37 4.0 0 27 0.0 287 41 8.5 

Tennessee 95 18,686 95 15,434 95 82.6 673 94 3.6 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Texas 254 91,106 248 63,169 244 69.3 4,656 241 5.1 1,728 237 1.9 21,556 238 23.7 

Utah 29 4,859 29 3,343 29 68.8 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1,5

Vermont 246 2,546 246 2,151 246 84.5 8 244 0.3 3 246 0.1 301 246 11.8 

Virginia 134 41,762 134 29,258 134 70.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 12,504 134 29.9 

Washington 39 61,934 39 44,463 39 71.8 483 18 0.8 1,294 15 2.1 4,122 16 6.7 

West Virginia 55 4,194 40 2,547 36 60.7 81 33 1.9 31 29 0.7 302 30 7.2 

Wisconsin 72 10,102 72 6,982 72 69.1 341 72 3.4 0.0 0.0 

Wyoming 23 1,710 23 1,310 23 76.6 34 4 2.0 0 0 0.0 366 18 21.4 

American Samoa 1 310 1 278 1 89.7 0 1 0.0 1 1 0.3 31 1 10.0 

Guam 1 337 1 226 1 67.1 15 1 4.5 0 1 0.0 96 1 28.5 

Puerto Rico 1 2,095 1 1,224 1 58.4 20 1 1.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 0.0 

Virgin Islands 1 122 1 48 1 39.3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Sum of Above 4,517 989,207 4,427 682,341 4,084 69.0 18,658 3,382 1.9 13,784 2,717 1.4 139,783 3,376 14.1 22,7

States Included 55 51 41 29 39 

Question B1a B2a B2b B2c B2d B2e+f
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 25

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 9. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted: Disposition of Ballots

Question B2. Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted and disposition of the ballot.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Arizona --- One county reported the number counted as the number returned.

Arkansas --- 2 transmitted absentee ballots were not counted in the breakout of B2 because both voters submitted a FWAB.

California --- One county reported partial numbers for B2b, returned undeliverable. One county could only provide estimates for the total number of ballots returned undeliverable and spoiled or replaced ballots. One county reported 11 

additional ballots were challenged, but status is not determined. Three counties included spoiled or replacement ballots as 

part of B1a and were broken out among the other B2 options.

Michigan --- ‘Other’ total are ballots returned by voter after election.

Missouri --- One county reported 10 transmitted FWABs being returned.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA absentee ballots transmissions. B2a also includes 

FWAB ballots.

South Dakota --- One county included 1 FWAB ballot received.
26 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of BallotsState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Automatic Ballots 

Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters Automatically and Disposition 

Returned and Submitted 

for Counting Returned as Undeliverable Spoiled or Replaced Ballots

Status Unknown 

(Not Returned)

O

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. T

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Alaska 1 943 1 446 1 47.3 155 1 16.4 31 1 3.3 311 1 33.0 

Arizona 15 7,169 10 841 9 11.7 40 7 0.6 0 7 0.0 640 9 8.9 

Arkansas 75 985 41 2,619 49 265.9 92 43 9.3 3 37 0.3 371 36 37.7 

California 58 60,422 44 31,569 41 52.2 1,384 35 2.3 556 28 0.9 15,934 40 26.4 3

Colorado 64 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Delaware 3 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

District of Columbia 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Florida 67 28,586 67 21,634 67 75.7 565 67 2.0 956 67 3.3 6,112 67 21.4 

Georgia 159 0 159 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Hawaii 4 2,525 2 1,543 2 61.1 1 1 0.0 5 1 0.2 0 1 0.0 

Idaho 44 2,632 44 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 2

Illinois 1 16,159 1 13,323 1 82.4 334 1 2.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1

Indiana 92 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Iowa 99 5,877 99 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Kansas 105 5,412 98 4,374 97 80.8 171 83 3.2 302 79 5.6 1,225 89 22.6 

Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Louisiana 64 1,890 64 6,538 64 345.9 207 64 11.0 0 64 0.0 2,466 64 130.5 

Maine 499 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Maryland 24 6,396 24 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 

Massachusetts 351 6,272 351 4,354 351 69.4 214 351 3.4 43 351 0.7 1,673 351 26.7 

Michigan 83 4,030 83 2,540 83 63.0 163 83 4.0 62 83 1.5 1,149 83 28.5 

Minnesota 87 12,407 87 9,299 87 74.9 354 87 2.9 33 87 0.3 2,721 87 21.9 

Mississippi 82 1,465 25 2,212 30 151.0 114 21 7.8 3 18 0.2 118 19 8.1 

Missouri 116 8,354 86 6,494 82 77.7 238 67 2.8 403 60 4.8 1,301 59 15.6 

Montana 56 5,385 55 3,638 55 67.5 582 55 10.8 68 55 1.3 1,097 55 20.4 

Nebraska 93 396 93 288 37 72.7 45 19 11.4 2 2 0.5 61 9 15.4 

Nevada 17 963 9 712 9 73.9 24 9 2.5 17 9 1.8 206 9 21.4 

New Hampshire 323 1,436 323 1,103 323 76.8 48 323 3.3 0 0 0.0 285 323 19.8 

New Jersey 21 1,218 21 931 21 76.4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 271 21 22.2 

New Mexico 33 906 15 744 16 82.1 3 12 0.3 0 11 0.0 13 12 1.4 

New York 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

North Carolina 100 759 100 206 100 27.1 166 100 21.9 2 100 0.3 0 100 0.0 
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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of BallotsState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

Automatic Ballots 

Transmitted

UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted to Voters Automatically and Disposition 

Returned and Submitted 

for Counting Returned as Undeliverable Spoiled or Replaced Ballots

Status Unknown 

(Not Returned)

O

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. T

North Dakota 53 0 53 0 53 ... 0 53 ... 0 53 ... 0 53 ... 

Ohio 88 10,105 71 7,746 62 76.7 292 59 2.9 32 51 0.3 1,831 55 18.1 

Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Pennsylvania 67 29 67 23 67 79.3 0 67 0.0 0 67 0.0 6 67 20.7 

Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

South Carolina 46 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

South Dakota 66 576 28 606 31 105.2 56 22 9.7 0 12 0.0 46 22 8.0 

Tennessee 95 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Texas 254 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Utah 29 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Vermont 246 2,539 245 2,130 245 83.9 14 245 0.6 3 245 0.1 294 245 11.6 

Virginia 134 28,904 128 19,300 128 66.8 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 9,604 134 33.2 

Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

West Virginia 55 702 17 440 18 62.7 11 15 1.6 0 14 0.0 71 15 10.1 

Wisconsin 72 4,537 72 3,513 72 77.4 264 72 5.8 0.0 0.0 

Wyoming 23 1,315 23 977 23 74.3 29 3 2.2 0 0 0.0 309 15 23.5 

American Samoa 1 30 1 0 1 0.0 12 1 40.0 0 1 0.0 18 1 60.0 

Guam 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Puerto Rico 1 0 1 0 1 ... 0 1 ... 0 1 ... 0 1 ... 

Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 

Sum of Above 4,517 231,324 2,608 150,143 2,226 64.9 5,578 1,967 2.4 2,521 1,504 1.1 48,133 2,043 20.8 8

States Included 33 29 27 17 26 

Question B19b B20a B20b B20c B20d B20e
28 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 10. UOCAVA Ballots Transmitted Automatically: Disposition of Ballots

Question B20. Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted automatically and disposition of the ballot.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

California --- One county provided only estimates for B20b and B20c, one county did not report on state-side military, and 

one county included replacement ballots in their totals.

Colorado --- Due to migration of county data in 2007 as the state transitioned from independent county VR systems to a 

centralized state system, Colorado cannot produce consistent statistics on UOCAVA absentee request dates over a two year 

period.

Iowa --- Iowa considered all of our UOCAVA’s as transmitted automatically

Michigan --- ‘Other’ total are ballots returned by voter after election.

Missouri --- One county included 10 FWAB ballots that were transmitted.

Montana --- MT does not track these separately, but most if not all UOCAVA ballots are sent through automatic process

Puerto Rico --- Puerto Rico only conducts federal elections every four years with the General Elections. Voters must request an absentee ballot every election. CEE sends a letter to the voters that requested an absentee ballot the prior election 

asking them to certify their status.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of VoterState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots 

Submitted for Counting

UOCAVA Ballots Received from Voters, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services

Domestic or Overseas

Non-military/Civilian

Overseas

Other Voter

(See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 6,486 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Alaska 1 12,103 1 10,489 1 86.7 1,614 1 13.3 0 0 

Arizona 15 9,171 15 4,470 10 48.7 4,284 10 46.7 417 14 Arkansas 75 4,028 65 2,560 61 63.6 1,203 56 29.9 11 4 California 58 69,823 57 25,181 53 36.1 38,331 51 54.9 4,237 13 Colorado 64 13,289 60 3,331 55 25.1 6,011 51 45.2 3,947 38 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 1,722 3 861 3 50.0 861 3 50.0 0 0 District of Columbia 1 1,350 1 109 1 8.1 1,241 1 91.9 0 0 Florida 67 97,278 67 66,668 67 68.5 25,111 67 25.8 166 67 Georgia 159 17,229 159 10,693 159 62.1 6,536 159 37.9 0 159 Hawaii 4 2,375 2 998 2 42.0 1,377 2 58.0 0 0 Idaho 44 3,085 44 2,089 44 67.7 996 44 32.3 0 0 Illinois 1 17,372 1 7,276 1 41.9 4,374 1 25.2 5,722 1 Indiana 92 8,145 92 4,745 92 58.3 3,400 92 41.7 0 0 Iowa 99 4,760 99 2,409 99 50.6 2,351 99 49.4 0 0 Kansas 105 3,158 85 2,698 104 85.4 1,318 94 41.7 0 0 Kentucky 120 5,236 120 3,591 120 68.6 1,645 120 31.4 0 0 Louisiana 64 6,538 64 4,635 64 70.9 1,903 64 29.1 0 0 Maine 499 2,092 499 761 499 36.4 1,331 499 63.6 0 0 Maryland 24 14,419 24 3,526 24 24.5 9,253 24 64.2 1,640 24 Massachusetts 351 13,931 351 2,449 350 17.6 11,402 351 81.8 0 0 Michigan 83 16,444 83 10,483 83 63.7 5,961 83 36.3 0 0 Minnesota 87 12,091 87 3,702 87 30.6 8,389 87 69.4 0 0 Mississippi 82 1,232 36 1,343 38 109.0 568 29 46.1 0 8 Missouri 116 13,785 116 8,101 111 58.8 4,368 104 31.7 23 6 Montana 56 3,638 55 2,667 54 73.3 961 54 26.4 0 0 Nebraska 93 2,713 93 1,639 93 60.4 1,074 93 39.6 0 0 Nevada 17 4,675 17 2,828 15 60.5 1,812 15 38.8 35 16 New Hampshire 323 3,462 323 2,112 323 61.0 1,350 323 39.0 0 0 New Jersey 21 12,811 21 0 0 0.0 6,541 21 51.1 44 21 New Mexico 33 1,706 17 593 18 34.8 270 17 15.8 0 4 New York 1 54,220 1 12,879 1 23.8 41,341 1 76.2 0 0 

North Carolina 100 13,137 100 8,891 100 67.7 4,246 100 32.3 0 0 
3 0 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of VoterState

Election Juris. 

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots 

Submitted for Counting

UOCAVA Ballots Received from Voters, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services

Domestic or Overseas

Non-military/Civilian

Overseas

Other Voter

(See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,018 53 646 53 63.5 372 53 36.5 0 53 

Ohio 88 27,469 86 13,094 85 47.7 12,953 85 47.2 34 36 Oklahoma 77 6,672 77 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 6,672 77 

Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 31,970 67 17,523 67 54.8 14,447 67 45.2 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 8,943 46 6,306 46 70.5 2,637 46 29.5 0 0 South Dakota 66 2,794 48 2,159 44 77.3 356 35 12.7 1 7 Tennessee 95 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Texas 254 69,837 242 42,015 233 60.2 17,662 232 25.3 0 0 Utah 29 3,219 29 1,337 29 41.5 1,882 29 58.5 0 0 Vermont 246 2,155 246 670 246 31.1 1,362 246 63.2 0 0 Virginia 134 29,258 134 14,107 134 48.2 15,151 134 51.8 0 0 Washington 39 30,389 38 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 West Virginia 55 2,606 32 1,717 31 65.9 265 29 10.2 0 0 Wisconsin 72 7,570 72 4,177 72 55.2 3,393 72 44.8 Wyoming 23 1,328 22 1,038 18 78.2 290 17 21.8 0 0 American Samoa 1 278 1 240 1 86.3 38 1 13.7 0 1 Guam 1 226 1 113 1 50.0 113 1 50.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 1,031 1 84.2 1,064 1 86.9 0 0 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 680,460 4,020 320,950 3,793 47.2 273,408 3,764 40.2 22,949 549 States Included 50 46 47 13 Question B3 B4a B4b B4c 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 31

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 11. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Voter

Questions B3, B4. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted for counting 

by type of voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Question B3:

Arizona --- Two counties did not include a total of 305 ballots that were later rejected for late delivery.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Florida --- Two counties reported a total of 52 FWABs being returned but were never requested.

Idaho --- B3 includes Spoiled Ballots but does not include Undeliverable Ballots.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Ohio --- One county did not include 3 FWAB ballots that were later rejected.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B2a and B3 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.

South Dakota --- B2 and B3 are the same number.

Question B4:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas they were seemly 

lumped in a “UOCAVA” file, that is now B4c.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B4a and B4b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B4c is the number of FWABs. B5a and B5b are the same as B4a and B4b.

Missouri --- One county only had data on absentee ballots, not FWAB.

Ohio --- One county did not include 4 uniformed FWAB ballots in the breakout.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B4 and B5 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.
32 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Submitted for Counting

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for All Ballots 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 6,486 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Alaska 1 12,103 1 11,637 1 96.1 466 1 3.9 0 0 

Arizona 15 9,171 15 5,706 7 62.2 268 7 2.9 5 5 Arkansas 75 4,028 65 2,600 46 64.5 345 35 8.6 424 8 California 58 69,823 57 57,857 45 82.9 2,562 33 3.7 149 15 Colorado 64 13,289 60 11,750 54 88.4 1,538 37 11.6 174 11 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 1,722 3 1,630 3 94.7 92 3 5.3 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,350 1 1,350 1 100.0 1,390 1 103.0 0 0 Florida 67 97,278 67 77,590 66 79.8 2,219 66 2.3 4 67 Georgia 159 17,229 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 2,375 2 2,293 2 96.5 80 2 3.4 2 1 Idaho 44 3,085 44 2,863 44 92.8 222 44 7.2 0 0 Illinois 1 17,372 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 8,145 92 6,821 92 83.7 368 32 4.5 0 0 Iowa 99 4,760 99 4,419 99 92.8 341 98 7.2 0 0 Kansas 105 3,158 85 2 1 0.1 341 87 10.8 0 0 Kentucky 120 5,236 120 4,931 120 94.2 305 120 5.8 0 0 Louisiana 64 6,538 64 6,538 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 2,092 499 1,855 499 88.7 59 499 2.8 177 499 Maryland 24 14,419 24 12,779 24 88.6 1,640 24 11.4 0 0 Massachusetts 351 13,931 351 12,364 351 88.8 1,539 351 11.0 0 0 Michigan 83 16,444 83 15,401 83 93.7 1,043 83 6.3 0 0 Minnesota 87 12,091 87 11,468 87 94.8 632 87 5.2 0 0 Mississippi 82 1,232 36 833 24 67.6 24 8 1.9 0 2 Missouri 116 13,785 116 9,829 90 71.3 884 52 6.4 59 11 Montana 56 3,638 55 3,368 54 92.6 260 55 7.2 0 0 Nebraska 93 2,713 93 0 0 0.0 96 93 3.5 0 0 Nevada 17 4,675 17 4,154 14 88.9 362 10 7.7 0 0 New Hampshire 323 3,462 323 3,258 323 94.1 204 323 5.9 0 0 New Jersey 21 12,811 21 9,090 21 71.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 1,706 17 552 11 32.4 12 3 0.7 1 1 New York 1 54,220 1 54,220 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 13,137 100 11,687 100 89.0 1,450 100 11.0 0 0 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 12. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Submitted for Counting

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for All Ballots 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,018 53 1,018 53 100.0 35 53 3.4 0 53 

Ohio 88 27,469 86 25,441 80 92.6 1,683 70 6.1 0 36 Oklahoma 77 6,672 77 5,960 77 89.3 624 77 9.4 88 77 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 31,970 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 8,943 46 8,943 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 2,794 48 2,467 39 88.3 83 24 3.0 366 9 Tennessee 95 0 0 14,587 95 ... 1,360 95 ... 0 0 Texas 254 69,837 242 53,294 231 76.3 5,013 230 7.2 0 0 Utah 29 3,219 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 2,155 246 2,122 245 98.5 36 245 1.7 0 0 Virginia 134 29,258 134 29,259 134 100.0 512 134 1.7 28,746 134 Washington 39 30,389 38 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 West Virginia 55 2,606 32 28 2 1.1 25 2 1.0 0 0 Wisconsin 72 7,570 72 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Wyoming 23 1,328 22 1,328 18 100.0 18 6 1.4 0 0 American Samoa 1 278 1 278 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 226 1 226 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 2,095 1 171.2 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 680,460 4,020 495,891 3,350 72.9 28,131 3,351 4.1 30,195 934 States Included 50 43 37 12 Question B3 B5a+b+c B6a+b+c B7a+b+c 
3 4 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Submitted by 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 10,489 1 10,147 1 96.7 342 1 3.3 0 0 Arizona 15 4,470 10 3,077 7 68.8 90 7 2.0 3 5 Arkansas 75 2,560 61 1,941 46 75.8 238 35 9.3 424 8 California 58 25,181 53 22,539 45 89.5 705 33 2.8 1 15 Colorado 64 3,331 55 3,200 54 96.1 118 37 3.5 4 9 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 861 3 838 3 97.3 23 3 2.7 0 3 District of Columbia 1 109 1 109 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 66,668 67 57,961 66 86.9 1,261 66 1.9 0 67 Georgia 159 10,693 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 998 2 961 2 96.3 37 2 3.7 0 0 Idaho 44 2,089 44 2,007 44 96.1 82 44 3.9 0 0 Illinois 1 7,276 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 4,745 92 4,568 92 96.3 239 32 5.0 0 0 Iowa 99 2,409 99 2,238 99 92.9 171 98 7.1 0 0 Kansas 105 2,698 104 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 3,591 120 3,388 120 94.3 203 120 5.7 0 0 Louisiana 64 4,635 64 4,635 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 761 499 674 499 88.6 19 499 2.5 67 499 Maryland 24 3,526 24 3,526 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 2,449 350 2,273 351 92.8 758 351 31.0 0 0 Michigan 83 10,483 83 9,778 83 93.3 705 83 6.7 0 0 Minnesota 87 3,702 87 3,590 87 97.0 112 87 3.0 0 0 Mississippi 82 1,343 38 713 24 53.1 20 8 1.5 0 2 

Missouri 116 8,101 111 6,328 90 78.1 412 52 5.1 40 11 Montana 56 2,667 54 2,478 54 92.9 189 55 7.1 0 0 Nebraska 93 1,639 93 0 0 0.0 42 93 2.6 0 0 

Nevada 17 2,828 15 2,586 14 91.4 144 10 5.1 0 0 New Hampshire 323 2,112 323 2,046 323 96.9 66 323 3.1 0 0 New Jersey 21 0 0 2,505 21 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 New Mexico 33 593 18 397 11 66.9 2 2 0.3 0 0 New York 1 12,879 1 12,879 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 8,891 100 7,996 100 89.9 895 100 10.1 0 0 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 13. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Submitted by 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 646 53 646 53 100.0 23 53 3.6 0 53 

Ohio 88 13,094 85 12,466 80 95.2 771 70 5.9 0 36 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 17,523 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 6,306 46 6,306 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 2,159 44 2,080 39 96.3 53 24 2.5 357 8 Tennessee 95 0 0 11,087 95 ... 1,360 95 ... 0 0 Texas 254 42,015 233 37,774 231 89.9 3,825 230 9.1 0 0 Utah 29 1,337 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 670 246 672 245 100.3 12 245 1.8 0 0 Virginia 134 14,107 134 14,107 134 100.0 213 50 1.5 13,894 134 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 1,717 31 25 2 1.5 20 2 1.2 0 0 Wisconsin 72 4,177 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 1,038 18 1,038 18 100.0 7 6 0.7 0 0 American Samoa 1 240 1 240 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 113 1 113 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,031 1 1,031 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 320,950 3,793 262,963 3,272 81.9 13,157 3,077 4.1 14,790 852 States Included 46 41 33 8 Question B4a B5a B6a B7a 
3 6 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Submitted by 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 1,614 1 1,490 1 92.3 124 1 7.7 0 0 Arizona 15 4,284 10 2,541 7 59.3 66 7 1.5 2 5 Arkansas 75 1,203 56 648 35 53.9 107 20 8.9 0 6 California 58 38,331 51 33,436 43 87.2 1,370 30 3.6 0 15 Colorado 64 6,011 51 5,743 49 95.5 383 36 6.4 3 9 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 861 3 792 3 92.0 69 3 8.0 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,241 1 1,241 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 25,111 67 19,473 66 77.5 813 66 3.2 4 67 Georgia 159 6,536 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 1,377 2 1,332 2 96.7 43 2 3.1 2 1 Idaho 44 996 44 856 44 85.9 140 44 14.1 0 0 Illinois 1 4,374 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 3,400 92 2,253 92 66.3 119 30 3.5 0 0 Iowa 99 2,351 99 2,181 99 92.8 170 98 7.2 0 0 Kansas 105 1,318 94 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 1,645 120 1,543 120 93.8 102 120 6.2 0 0 Louisiana 64 1,903 64 1,903 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 1,331 499 1,181 499 88.7 40 499 3.0 110 499 Maryland 24 9,253 24 9,253 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 11,402 351 10,091 351 88.5 781 351 6.8 0 0 Michigan 83 5,961 83 5,623 83 94.3 338 83 5.7 0 0 Minnesota 87 8,389 87 7,870 87 93.8 520 87 6.2 0 0 Mississippi 82 568 29 120 13 21.1 4 5 0.7 0 1 

Missouri 116 4,368 104 3,495 75 80.0 472 31 10.8 16 3 Montana 56 961 54 890 54 92.6 71 55 7.4 0 0 Nebraska 93 1,074 93 0 0 0.0 54 93 5.0 0 0 

Nevada 17 1,812 15 1,549 14 85.5 218 10 12.0 0 0 New Hampshire 323 1,350 323 1,212 323 89.8 138 323 10.2 0 0 New Jersey 21 6,541 21 6,541 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 270 17 155 8 57.4 10 3 3.7 1 1 New York 1 41,341 1 41,341 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 4,246 100 3,691 100 86.9 555 100 13.1 0 0 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Submitted by 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Submitted by Voters, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 372 53 372 53 100.0 12 53 3.2 0 53 

Ohio 88 12,953 85 12,974 80 100.2 885 59 6.8 0 34 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 14,447 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 2,637 46 2,637 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 356 35 367 36 103.1 30 17 8.4 5 9 Tennessee 95 0 0 3,500 95 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Texas 254 17,662 232 15,520 230 87.9 1,188 229 6.7 0 0 Utah 29 1,882 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 1,362 246 1,450 245 106.5 24 245 1.8 0 0 Virginia 134 15,151 134 15,152 134 100.0 299 134 2.0 14,852 134 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 265 29 3 2 1.1 5 2 1.9 0 0 Wisconsin 72 3,393 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 290 17 290 17 100.0 11 6 3.8 0 0 American Samoa 1 38 1 38 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 113 1 113 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,064 1 1,064 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 273,408 3,764 221,924 3,220 81.2 9,161 3,003 3.4 14,995 842 States Included 47 41 32 9 Question B4b B5b B6b B7b 
3 8 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 12, 13, 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot for All Voters; 

Uniformed; Civilian

Questions B3, B4, B5, B6, B7. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) returned by the voter and submitted 

for counting by type of ballot by type of voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with the 

total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is a 

negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting. For Montana: The balance column indicates an over-count as Absentee ballots included the count of 

FWABs.

Question B4:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas they were seemly 

lumped in a “UOCAVA” file, that is now B4c.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B4a and B4b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B4c is the number of FWABs. B5a and B5b are the same as B4a and B4b.

Missouri --- One county only had data on absentee ballots, not FWAB.

Ohio --- One county did not include 4 uniformed FWAB ballots in the breakout.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B4 and B5 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.

Question B5:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. One county included FWABs in their reporting of UOCAVA absentee.

Ohio --- One county included FWABs in their reported breakout.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B4 and B5 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 39

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 12, 13, 14. UOCAVA Ballots Submitted for Counting: Type of Ballot for All Voters; 

Uniformed; Civilian (continued)

Question B6:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Florida --- One county reported 10 day UOCAVA voters.

Missouri --- One county reported that they had 1 FWAB for uniformed service that was not included in their reported 

numbers.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

Question B7:

Colorado --- Several counties included “Special” Write-In Absentee Ballots (SWAB).

Missouri --- One county reported 2 e-mail ballots that were both for uniformed service.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.
4 0 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Counted

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services Domestic or 

Overseas Non-military/Civilian Overseas Other Voter (See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 11,583 1 10,101 1 87.2 1,482 1 12.8 0 0 Arizona 15 9,022 15 4,484 12 49.7 4,280 12 47.4 258 13 Arkansas 75 3,667 58 1,745 56 47.6 871 50 23.8 14 2 California 58 65,518 56 24,115 53 36.8 37,159 51 56.7 3,638 11 Colorado 64 11,719 60 3,298 55 28.1 5,821 51 49.7 2,656 38 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 1,595 3 828 3 51.9 767 3 48.1 0 3 District of Columbia 1 2,740 1 109 1 4.0 1,241 1 45.3 0 0 Florida 67 95,014 67 66,007 67 69.5 25,325 67 26.7 0 66 Georgia 159 16,840 159 10,486 159 62.3 6,354 159 37.7 0 0 Hawaii 4 2,375 2 998 2 42.0 1,377 2 58.0 0 0 Idaho 44 2,665 44 1,874 44 70.3 791 44 29.7 0 0 Illinois 1 0 0 7,147 1 ... 4,284 1 ... 5,315 1 Indiana 92 5,169 92 3,563 92 68.9 1,606 92 31.1 0 0 Iowa 99 4,368 99 2,160 99 49.5 2,208 99 50.5 0 0 Kansas 105 5,021 103 2,260 103 45.0 1,247 96 24.8 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 6,086 64 4,298 64 70.6 1,788 64 29.4 0 0 Maine 499 1,494 499 478 499 32.0 1,016 499 68.0 0 0 Maryland 24 13,184 24 3,439 24 26.1 8,984 24 68.1 761 24 Massachusetts 351 12,753 351 2,415 351 18.9 10,394 351 81.5 0 0 Michigan 83 16,444 83 10,483 83 63.7 5,961 83 36.3 0 0 Minnesota 87 11,322 87 3,396 87 30.0 7,926 87 70.0 0 87 Mississippi 82 2,037 36 912 32 44.8 188 25 9.2 0 5 

Missouri 116 12,020 116 7,765 113 64.6 4,154 100 34.6 24 4 Montana 56 3,391 55 2,469 54 72.8 912 54 26.9 0 0 Nebraska 93 2,501 93 1,498 93 59.9 1,003 93 40.1 0 0 Nevada 17 4,574 16 2,811 16 61.5 1,763 15 38.5 19 16 New Hampshire 323 3,311 323 2,028 323 61.3 1,283 323 38.7 0 0 New Jersey 21 7,009 21 1,281 21 18.3 4,103 21 58.5 19 21 New Mexico 33 1,403 14 265 12 18.9 172 13 12.3 0 3 New York 1 50,065 1 11,582 1 23.1 38,483 1 76.9 0 0 

North Carolina 100 12,540 100 8,442 100 67.3 4,098 100 32.7 0 0 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Counted

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services Domestic or 

Overseas Non-military/Civilian Overseas Other Voter (See Comments) 

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,001 53 634 53 63.3 367 53 36.7 0 53 

Ohio 88 26,319 85 8,473 84 32.2 16,348 84 62.1 136 31 Oklahoma 77 6,275 77 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 6,275 77 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 31,818 67 17,450 67 54.8 14,368 67 45.2 0 0 Rhode Island 39 894 39 704 39 78.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Carolina 46 8,667 46 6,124 46 70.7 2,543 46 29.3 0 0 South Dakota 66 2,521 42 1,775 41 70.4 357 33 14.2 0 5 Tennessee 95 14,494 95 10,944 95 75.5 3,051 95 21.1 499 20 Texas 254 56,274 234 37,683 230 67.0 15,813 228 28.1 0 0 Utah 29 3,122 29 1,300 29 41.6 1,822 29 58.4 0 0 Vermont 246 2,129 246 673 246 31.6 1,456 246 68.4 0 0 Virginia 134 28,816 134 13,770 134 47.8 15,046 134 52.2 0 0 Washington 39 45,929 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 West Virginia 55 1,554 27 1,566 28 100.8 212 27 13.6 0 0 Wisconsin 72 6,977 72 3,923 72 56.2 3,065 72 43.9 Wyoming 23 1,268 23 1,004 18 79.2 264 18 20.8 0 0 American Samoa 1 278 1 240 1 86.3 38 1 13.7 0 0 Guam 1 226 1 113 1 50.0 113 1 50.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 516 1 42.2 708 1 57.8 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 637,216 3,954 309,629 3,806 48.6 262,612 3,717 41.2 19,614 481 States Included 49 48 47 12 Question B8 B9a B9b B9c 
42 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 15. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Voter

Questions B8, B9. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Question B8:

Colorado --- One county included “Special” Write-In Absentee Ballots (SWAB).

Mississippi --- One county reported 1 ballot actually not being counted even though they reported it counting.

Ohio --- One county had 59 ballots counted but did not report it in the table.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B8 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted. Once challenged, these ballots are no longer tracked as a UOCAVA ballot; they would be 

tracked simply as provisional ballots. Also, when reporting results, UOCAVA results are reported in an absentee precinct 

with all the other absentee ballots.

Question B9:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B9a: 68%. B9b: 32%.

California --- Two counties did not include returns of stateside military ballots. Two counties had a total of 116 FWAB ballots counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county double counted their 56 FWAB votes by counting them in B9a and B9b while also adding them as 

a third category of B9c.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B9a and B9b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B9c is the number of FWABs counted. B9a and B9b are the same as B10a 

and B10b.

Ohio --- One county wrote, “The difference in our official count and the total number who participated in the November 

2008 General Election is due to the situation where we credited the voters for voting in this election, although their vote 

was not included as counting in the official count.”

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- This number represents the total returned before the deadline. It is possible that some of these ballots 

could have been challenged and not counted after receiving them.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Counted

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for All Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 11,583 1 11,464 1 99.0 119 1 1.0 0 0 Arizona 15 9,022 15 5,606 7 62.1 252 7 2.8 5 5 Arkansas 75 3,667 58 1,884 44 51.4 408 36 11.1 0 3 California 58 65,518 56 55,379 46 84.5 1,840 31 2.8 1 16 Colorado 64 11,719 60 10,187 52 86.9 1,019 36 8.7 166 9 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 1,595 3 1,547 3 97.0 48 3 3.0 0 3 District of Columbia 1 2,740 1 0 0 0.0 1,390 1 50.7 0 0 Florida 67 95,014 67 73,020 66 76.9 1,790 67 1.9 4 67 Georgia 159 16,840 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 2,375 2 2,293 2 96.5 80 2 3.4 2 1 Idaho 44 2,665 44 2,539 44 95.3 126 44 4.7 0 0 Illinois 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Indiana 92 5,169 92 5,003 92 96.8 166 28 3.2 0 0 Iowa 99 4,368 99 4,125 99 94.4 243 98 5.6 0 0 Kansas 105 5,021 103 2 1 0.0 275 88 5.5 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 6,086 64 6,086 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 1,494 499 1,398 499 93.6 42 499 2.8 54 499 Maryland 24 13,184 24 12,423 24 94.2 761 24 5.8 0 0 Massachusetts 351 12,753 351 11,716 351 91.9 1,211 351 9.5 0 0 Michigan 83 16,444 83 15,401 83 93.7 1,043 83 6.3 0 0 Minnesota 87 11,322 87 10,714 87 94.6 608 87 5.4 0 0 Mississippi 82 2,037 36 533 19 26.2 54 13 2.7 0 4 

Missouri 116 12,020 116 8,952 85 74.5 744 56 6.2 59 13 Montana 56 3,391 55 3,148 54 92.8 233 55 6.9 0 0 Nebraska 93 2,501 93 0 0 0.0 82 93 3.3 0 0 

Nevada 17 4,574 16 4,049 15 88.5 382 8 8.4 0 0 New Hampshire 323 3,311 323 3,126 323 94.4 185 323 5.6 0 0 New Jersey 21 7,009 21 5,403 21 77.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 1,403 14 172 8 12.3 12 3 0.9 1 2 New York 1 50,065 1 23,211 1 46.4 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 12,540 100 11,472 100 91.5 1,068 99 8.5 0 0 
4 4 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 16. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots

Counted

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for All Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,001 53 1,001 53 100.0 35 53 3.5 0 53 

Ohio 88 26,319 85 24,910 80 94.6 912 71 3.5 89 36 Oklahoma 77 6,275 77 5,708 77 91.0 487 77 7.8 80 77 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 31,818 67 0 0 0.0 1,511 59 4.7 0 0 Rhode Island 39 894 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Carolina 46 8,667 46 8,667 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 2,521 42 2,308 38 91.6 63 21 2.5 362 7 Tennessee 95 14,494 95 0 0 0.0 1,696 93 11.7 0 0 Texas 254 56,274 234 49,491 228 87.9 4,029 229 7.2 0 0 Utah 29 3,122 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 2,129 246 2,093 245 98.3 36 245 1.7 0 0 Virginia 134 28,816 134 28,816 134 100.0 512 134 1.8 0 0 Washington 39 45,929 39 0 0 0.0 1,915 30 4.2 0 0 West Virginia 55 1,554 27 141 2 9.1 161 8 10.4 0 0 Wisconsin 72 6,977 72 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Wyoming 23 1,268 23 1,268 18 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 278 1 278 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 226 1 226 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 1,224 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 637,216 3,954 416,984 3,115 65.4 25,538 3,317 4.0 823 797 States Included 49 40 37 11 Question B8 B10a+b+c B11a+b+c B12a+b+c 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Counted from

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 10,101 1 10,015 1 99.1 86 1 0.9 0 0 Arizona 15 4,484 12 3,031 7 67.6 83 7 1.9 3 5 Arkansas 75 1,745 56 1,169 44 67.0 315 36 18.1 0 3 California 58 24,115 53 21,816 46 90.5 499 31 2.1 1 16 Colorado 64 3,298 55 2,954 52 89.6 84 35 2.5 4 7 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 828 3 808 3 97.6 20 3 2.4 0 3 District of Columbia 1 109 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 66,007 67 54,945 66 83.2 1,010 67 1.5 0 67 Georgia 159 10,486 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 998 2 961 2 96.3 37 2 3.7 0 0 Idaho 44 1,874 44 1,827 44 97.5 47 44 2.5 0 0 Illinois 1 7,147 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 3,563 92 3,426 92 96.2 137 28 3.8 0 0 Iowa 99 2,160 99 2,030 99 94.0 130 98 6.0 0 0 Kansas 105 2,260 103 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 4,298 64 4,298 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 478 499 448 499 93.7 16 499 3.3 14 499 Maryland 24 3,439 24 3,439 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 2,415 351 2,405 351 99.6 221 351 9.2 0 0 Michigan 83 10,483 83 9,778 83 93.3 705 83 6.7 0 0 Minnesota 87 3,396 87 3,290 87 96.9 106 87 3.1 0 0 Mississippi 82 912 32 441 19 48.4 46 13 5.0 0 4 

Missouri 116 7,765 113 5,694 85 73.3 353 56 4.5 43 13 Montana 56 2,469 54 2,293 54 92.9 176 55 7.1 0 0 Nebraska 93 1,498 93 0 0 0.0 51 93 3.4 0 0 

Nevada 17 2,811 16 2,553 14 90.8 141 8 5.0 0 0 New Hampshire 323 2,028 323 1,973 323 97.3 55 323 2.7 0 0 New Jersey 21 1,281 21 1,281 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 265 12 109 8 41.1 2 2 0.8 0 1 New York 1 11,582 1 9,367 1 80.9 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 8,442 100 7,797 100 92.4 645 99 7.6 0 0 
4 6 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 17. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Counted from

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 634 53 634 53 100.0 23 53 3.6 0 53 

Ohio 88 8,473 84 8,612 80 101.6 283 71 3.3 2 36 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 17,450 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 704 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Carolina 46 6,124 46 6,124 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 1,775 41 1,965 38 110.7 40 21 2.3 357 6 Tennessee 95 10,944 95 0 0 0.0 1,696 93 15.5 0 0 Texas 254 37,683 230 34,478 228 91.5 3,243 229 8.6 0 0 Utah 29 1,300 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 673 246 661 245 98.2 12 245 1.8 0 0 Virginia 134 13,770 134 13,770 134 100.0 213 50 1.5 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 1,566 28 107 2 6.8 123 8 7.9 0 0 Wisconsin 72 3,923 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 1,004 18 1,004 18 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 240 1 240 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 113 1 113 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 516 1 516 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 309,629 3,806 226,372 3,036 73.1 10,598 2,952 3.4 424 715 States Included 48 38 31 7 Question B9a B10a B11a B12a 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Counted from 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 1,482 1 1,449 1 97.8 33 1 2.2 0 0 Arizona 15 4,280 12 2,487 7 58.1 57 7 1.3 2 5 Arkansas 75 871 50 715 32 82.1 82 24 9.4 0 3 California 58 37,159 51 32,682 44 88.0 1,131 29 3.0 0 16 Colorado 64 5,821 51 4,870 48 83.7 319 36 5.5 3 7 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 767 3 739 3 96.3 28 3 3.7 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,241 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 25,325 67 16,435 66 64.9 765 67 3.0 4 67 Georgia 159 6,354 159 0 0 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 1,377 2 1,332 2 96.7 43 2 3.1 2 1 Idaho 44 791 44 712 44 90.0 79 44 10.0 0 0 Illinois 1 4,284 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 1,606 92 1,577 92 98.2 29 26 1.8 0 0 Iowa 99 2,208 99 2,095 99 94.9 113 98 5.1 0 0 Kansas 105 1,247 96 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 1,788 64 1,788 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 1,016 499 950 499 93.5 26 499 2.6 40 499 Maryland 24 8,984 24 8,984 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 10,394 351 9,311 351 89.6 990 351 9.5 0 0 Michigan 83 5,961 83 5,623 83 94.3 338 83 5.7 0 0 Minnesota 87 7,926 87 7,424 87 93.7 502 87 6.3 0 0 Mississippi 82 188 25 92 13 48.9 8 6 4.3 0 3 

Missouri 116 4,154 100 3,258 68 78.4 390 26 9.4 16 4 Montana 56 912 54 856 54 93.9 56 55 6.1 0 0 Nebraska 93 1,003 93 0 0 0.0 31 93 3.1 0 0 

Nevada 17 1,763 15 1,477 14 83.8 241 8 13.7 0 0 New Hampshire 323 1,283 323 1,153 323 89.9 130 323 10.1 0 0 New Jersey 21 4,103 21 4,103 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 172 13 63 7 36.6 10 3 5.8 1 2 New York 1 38,483 1 13,844 1 36.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 4,098 100 3,675 100 89.7 423 99 10.3 0 0 
4 8 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Counted from 

These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Counted, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 367 53 367 53 100.0 12 53 3.3 0 53 

Ohio 88 16,348 84 16,275 80 99.6 603 62 3.7 0 36 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 14,368 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 2,543 46 2,543 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 357 33 339 32 95.0 23 16 6.4 5 7 Tennessee 95 3,051 95 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Texas 254 15,813 228 15,013 228 94.9 786 228 5.0 0 0 Utah 29 1,822 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 1,456 246 1,432 245 98.4 24 245 1.6 0 0 Virginia 134 15,046 134 15,046 134 100.0 299 134 2.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 212 27 34 2 16.0 38 7 17.9 0 0 Wisconsin 72 3,065 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 264 18 264 18 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 38 1 38 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Guam 1 113 1 113 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 708 1 708 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 262,612 3,717 179,866 2,988 68.5 7,609 2,876 2.9 73 708 States Included 47 38 30 8 Question B9b B10b B11b B12b 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 4 9

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 16, 17, 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian

Questions B8, B9, B10, B11, B12. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of ballot by type of 

voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with the 

total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is a 

negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting. For Montana: The balance column indicates an over-count as Absentee ballots included the count of 

FWABs.

Question B9:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B9a: 68%. B9b: 32%.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. Two counties had a total of 116 FWAB ballots 

counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county double counted their 56 FWAB votes by counting them in B9a and B9b while also adding them as 

a third category of B9c.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B9a and B9b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B9c is the number of FWABs counted. B9a and B9b are the same as B10a 

and B10b.

Ohio --- One county wrote, “The difference in our official count and the total number who participated in the November 

2008 General Election is due to the situation where we credited the voters for voting in this election, although their vote 

was not included as counting in the official count.”

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B9 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted.

Question B10:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B10a: 66%. B10b: 29%.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. One county included FWAB ballots in their 

answers.

Maryland --- Maryland included FWABS in their totals for B10, Absentee ballots counted breakout.

Ohio --- For one county, Federal write-ins were counted with Absentee not separately.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.
5 0 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 16, 17, 18. UOCAVA Ballots Counted: Type of Ballot for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian 

(continued)

Question B11:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B11a: 2%. B11b: 3%.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. One county had a total of 32 FWAB ballots 

counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county counted all 5 FWABs in B11b, because they were unable to separate.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

Question B12:

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

All UOCAVA Ballots Uniformed Services Voters 

Ballots Cast Ballots Counted Counted

% Cast

Not 

Counted

Ballots Cast Ballots Counted Counted

% Cast

Not 

Counted

Ballots Cast 

Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Case

Alabama 67 6,486 67 0 0 0.0 6,486 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 12,103 1 11,583 1 95.7 520 10,489 1 10,101 1 96.3 388 1,614 

Arizona 15 9,171 15 9,022 15 98.4 149 4,470 10 4,484 12 100.3 (14) 4,284 

Arkansas 75 4,028 65 3,667 58 91.0 361 2,560 61 1,745 56 68.2 815 1,203 5

California 58 69,823 57 65,518 56 93.8 4,305 25,181 53 24,115 53 95.8 1,066 38,331 5

Colorado 64 13,289 60 11,719 60 88.2 1,570 3,331 55 3,298 55 99.0 33 6,011 5

Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Delaware 3 1,722 3 1,595 3 92.6 127 861 3 828 3 96.2 33 861 

District of Columbia 1 1,350 1 2,740 1 203.0 (1,390) 109 1 109 1 100.0 0 1,241 

Florida 67 97,278 67 95,014 67 97.7 2,264 66,668 67 66,007 67 99.0 661 25,111 6

Georgia 159 17,229 159 16,840 159 97.7 389 10,693 159 10,486 159 98.1 207 6,536 15

Hawaii 4 2,375 2 2,375 2 100.0 0 998 2 998 2 100.0 0 1,377 

Idaho 44 3,085 44 2,665 44 86.4 420 2,089 44 1,874 44 89.7 215 996 4

Illinois 1 17,372 1 0 0 0.0 17,372 7,276 1 7,147 1 98.2 129 4,374 

Indiana 92 8,145 92 5,169 92 63.5 2,976 4,745 92 3,563 92 75.1 1,182 3,400 9

Iowa 99 4,760 99 4,368 99 91.8 392 2,409 99 2,160 99 89.7 249 2,351 9

Kansas 105 3,158 85 5,021 103 159.0 (1,863) 2,698 104 2,260 103 83.8 438 1,318 9

Kentucky 120 5,236 120 0 0 0.0 5,236 3,591 120 0 0 0.0 3,591 1,645 12

Louisiana 64 6,538 64 6,086 64 93.1 452 4,635 64 4,298 64 92.7 337 1,903 

Maine 499 2,092 499 1,494 499 71.4 598 761 499 478 499 62.8 283 1,331 49

Maryland 24 14,419 24 13,184 24 91.4 1,235 3,526 24 3,439 24 97.5 87 9,253 2

Massachusetts 351 13,931 351 12,753 351 91.5 1,178 2,449 350 2,415 351 98.6 34 11,402 35

Michigan 83 16,444 83 16,444 83 100.0 0 10,483 83 10,483 83 100.0 0 5,961 8

Minnesota 87 12,091 87 11,322 87 93.6 769 3,702 87 3,396 87 91.7 306 8,389 8

Mississippi 82 1,232 36 2,037 36 165.3 (805) 1,343 38 912 32 67.9 431 568 2

Missouri 116 13,785 116 12,020 116 87.2 1,765 8,101 111 7,765 113 95.9 336 4,368 10

Montana 56 3,641 55 3,391 55 93.2 249 2,667 54 2,469 54 92.6 198 961 5

Nebraska 93 2,713 93 2,501 93 92.2 212 1,639 93 1,498 93 91.4 141 1,074 9

Nevada 17 4,675 17 4,574 16 97.8 101 2,828 15 2,811 16 99.4 17 1,812 1

New Hampshire 323 3,462 323 3,311 323 95.6 151 2,112 323 2,028 323 96.0 84 1,350 32

New Jersey 21 12,811 21 7,009 21 54.7 5,802 0 0 1,281 21 ... (1,281) 6,541 2

New Mexico 33 1,706 17 1,403 14 82.2 303 593 18 265 12 44.7 328 270 1

New York 1 54,220 1 50,065 1 92.3 4,155 12,879 1 11,582 1 89.9 1,297 41,341 

North Carolina 100 13,137 100 12,540 100 95.5 597 8,891 100 8,442 100 94.9 449 4,246 10
52 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as % of Cast, by Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

All UOCAVA Ballots Uniformed Services Voters 

Ballots Cast Ballots Counted Counted

% Cast

Not 

Counted

Ballots Cast Ballots Counted Counted

% Cast

Not 

Counted

Ballots Cast 

Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Case

North Dakota 53 1,018 53 1,001 53 98.3 17 646 53 634 53 98.1 12 372 

Ohio 88 27,469 86 26,319 85 95.8 1,150 13,094 85 8,473 84 64.7 4,621 12,953 8

Oklahoma 77 6,672 77 6,275 77 94.0 397 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Pennsylvania 67 31,970 67 31,818 67 99.5 152 17,523 67 17,450 67 99.6 73 14,447 6

Rhode Island 39 0 0 894 39 ... (894) 0 0 704 39 ... (704) 0 

South Carolina 46 8,943 46 8,667 46 96.9 276 6,306 46 6,124 46 97.1 182 2,637 4

South Dakota 66 2,794 48 2,521 42 90.2 273 2,159 44 1,775 41 82.2 384 356 3

Tennessee 95 0 0 14,494 95 ... (14,494) 0 0 10,944 95 ... (10,944) 0 

Texas 254 69,837 242 56,274 234 80.6 13,563 42,015 233 37,683 230 89.7 4,332 17,662 23

Utah 29 3,219 29 3,122 29 97.0 97 1,337 29 1,300 29 97.2 37 1,882 2

Vermont 246 2,155 246 2,129 246 98.8 26 670 246 673 246 100.4 (3) 1,362 24

Virginia 134 29,258 134 28,816 134 98.5 442 14,107 134 13,770 134 97.6 337 15,151 13

Washington 39 30,389 38 45,929 39 151.1 (15,540) 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

West Virginia 55 2,606 32 1,554 27 59.6 1,052 1,717 31 1,566 28 91.2 151 265 2

Wisconsin 72 7,570 72 6,977 72 92.2 593 4,177 72 3,923 72 93.9 254 3,393 7

Wyoming 23 1,328 22 1,268 23 95.5 60 1,038 18 1,004 18 96.7 34 290 1

American Samoa 1 278 1 278 1 100.0 0 240 1 240 1 100.0 0 38 

Guam 1 226 1 226 1 100.0 0 113 1 113 1 100.0 0 113 

Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 1,224 1 100.0 0 1,031 1 516 1 50.0 515 1,064 

Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Sum of Above 4,517 680,463 4,020 637,216 3,954 93.6 43,246 320,950 3,793 309,629 3,806 96.5 11,321 273,408 3,76

States Included 50 49 46 48 47 

Question B3 B8 calc calc B4a B9a calc calc B4b 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 5 3

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as Percentage of Cast, by Type of Voter

Questions B3, B4, B8, B9. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) submitted for counting (cast) and counted 

by type of voter.

Question B3:

Arizona --- Two counties did not include a total of 305 ballots that were later rejected for late delivery.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Florida --- Two counties reported a total of 52 FWABs being returned but were never requested.

Idaho --- B3 includes Spoiled Ballots but does not include Undeliverable Ballots.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Ohio --- One county did not include 3 FWAB ballots that were later rejected.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B2a and B3 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.

South Dakota --- B2 and B3 are the same number.

Question B4:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas; they were seemly 

lumped in a “UOCAVA” file, that is now B4c.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B4a and B4b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B4c is the number of FWABs. B5a and B5b are the same as B4a and B4b.

Missouri --- One county only had data on absentee ballots, not FWAB.

Ohio --- One county did not include 4 uniformed FWAB ballots in the breakout.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B4 and B5 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.
5 4 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 19. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted as Percentage of Cast, by Type of Voter (continued)

Question B8:

Colorado --- One county included “Special” Write-In Absentee Ballots (SWAB).

Mississippi --- One county reported 1 ballot actually not being counted even though they reported it counting.

Ohio --- One county had 59 ballots counted but did not report it in the table.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B8 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted. Once challenged, these ballots are no longer tracked as a UOCAVA ballot; they would be 

tracked simply as provisional ballots. Also, when reporting results, UOCAVA results are reported in an absentee precinct 

with all the other absentee ballots.

Question B9:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B9a: 68%. B9b: 32%.

California --- Two counties did not include returns of stateside military ballots. Two counties had a total of 116 FWAB ballots counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county double counted their 56 FWAB votes by counting them in B9a and B9b while also adding them as 

a third category of B9c.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B9a and B9b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B9c is the number of FWABs counted. B9a and B9b are the same as B10a 

and B10b.

Ohio --- One county wrote, “The difference in our official count and the total number who participated in the November 

2008 General Election is due to the situation where we credited the voters for voting in this election, although their vote 

was not included as counting in the official count.”

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- This number represents the total returned before the deadline. It is possible that some of these ballots 

could have been challenged and not counted after receiving them.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of BallotState

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Juris.

in Survey

All UOCAVA Ballots Absentees FWAB Other Ballots 

Ballots Counted Ballots Counted % All UOCAVA

Counted

Ballots Counted % All UOCAVA

Counted

Ballots Counted 

Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 11,583 1 11,464 1 99.0 119 1 1.0 0 0 

Arizona 15 9,022 15 5,606 7 62.1 252 7 2.8 5 5 

Arkansas 75 3,667 58 1,884 36 51.4 408 24 11.1 0 3 

California 58 65,518 56 55,379 44 84.5 1,840 29 2.8 1 16 

Colorado 64 11,719 60 10,187 48 86.9 1,019 36 8.7 166 9 

Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Delaware 3 1,595 3 1,547 3 97.0 48 3 3.0 0 3 

District of Columbia 1 2,740 1 0 0 0.0 1,390 1 50.7 0 0 

Florida 67 95,014 67 73,020 67 76.9 1,790 67 1.9 4 67 

Georgia 159 16,840 159 0 159 0.0 0 159 0.0 0 0 

Hawaii 4 2,375 2 2,293 2 96.5 80 2 3.4 2 1 

Idaho 44 2,665 44 2,539 44 95.3 126 44 4.7 0 0 

Illinois 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Indiana 92 5,169 92 5,003 92 96.8 166 26 3.2 0 0 

Iowa 99 4,368 99 4,125 99 94.4 243 98 5.6 0 0 

Kansas 105 5,021 103 2 1 0.0 275 88 5.5 0 0 

Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Louisiana 64 6,086 64 6,086 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Maine 499 1,494 499 1,398 499 93.6 42 499 2.8 54 499 

Maryland 24 13,184 24 12,423 24 94.2 761 24 5.8 0 0 

Massachusetts 351 12,753 351 11,716 351 91.9 1,211 351 9.5 0 0 

Michigan 83 16,444 83 15,401 83 93.7 1,043 83 6.3 0 0 

Minnesota 87 11,322 87 10,714 87 94.6 608 87 5.4 0 0 

Mississippi 82 2,037 36 533 13 26.2 54 6 2.7 0 3 

Missouri 116 12,020 116 8,952 68 74.5 744 26 6.2 59 4 

Montana 56 3,391 55 3,392 55 100.0 233 55 6.9 0 0 

Nebraska 93 2,501 93 0 93 0.0 82 93 3.3 0 0 

Nevada 17 4,574 16 4,049 15 88.5 382 8 8.4 0 0 

New Hampshire 323 3,311 323 3,126 323 94.4 185 323 5.6 0 0 

New Jersey 21 7,009 21 5,403 21 77.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 

New Mexico 33 1,403 14 172 7 12.3 12 3 0.9 1 2 

New York 1 50,065 1 23,211 1 46.4 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 12,540 100 11,472 100 91.5 1,068 99 8.5 0 0 
5 6 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of BallotState

Election 

Juris.

in Survey

All UOCAVA Ballots Absentees FWAB Other Ballots 

Ballots Counted Ballots Counted % All UOCAVA

Counted

Ballots Counted % All UOCAVA

Counted

Ballots Counted 

Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,001 53 1,001 53 100.0 35 53 3.5 0 53 

Ohio 88 26,319 85 24,910 80 94.6 912 62 3.5 89 36 

Oklahoma 77 6,275 77 5,708 77 91.0 487 77 7.8 80 77 

Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Pennsylvania 67 31,818 67 0 0 0.0 1,511 59 4.7 0 0 

Rhode Island 39 894 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

South Carolina 46 8,667 46 8,667 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

South Dakota 66 2,521 42 2,308 32 91.6 63 16 2.5 362 7 

Tennessee 95 14,494 95 0 93 0.0 1,696 0 11.7 0 0 

Texas 254 56,274 234 49,491 229 87.9 4,029 228 7.2 0 0 

Utah 29 3,122 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Vermont 246 2,129 246 2,093 245 98.3 36 245 1.7 0 0 

Virginia 134 28,816 134 28,816 134 100.0 512 134 1.8 0 0 

Washington 39 45,929 39 0 0 0.0 1,915 30 4.2 0 0 

West Virginia 55 1,554 27 141 8 9.1 161 7 10.4 0 0 

Wisconsin 72 6,977 72 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Wyoming 23 1,268 23 1,268 18 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

American Samoa 1 278 1 278 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 

Guam 1 226 1 226 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Puerto Rico 1 1,224 1 1,224 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 

Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Sum of Above 4,517 637,216 3,954 417,228 3,425 65.5 25,538 3,155 4.0 823 787 

States Included 49 40 37 11 Question B8 B10a+b+c calc B11a+b+c calc B12a+b+c 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 57

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 20. UOCAVA Ballots: Counted by Type of Ballot

Questions B8, B10, B11, B12. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) counted by type of ballot.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Question B8:

Colorado --- One county included “Special” Write-In Absentee Ballots (SWAB).

Mississippi --- One county reported 1 ballot actually not being counted even though they reported it counting.

Ohio --- One county had 59 ballots counted but did not report it in the table.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B8 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted. Once challenged, these ballots are no longer tracked as a UOCAVA ballot; they would be 

tracked simply as provisional ballots. Also, when reporting results, UOCAVA results are reported in an absentee precinct 

with all the other absentee ballots.

Question B10:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B10a: 66%. B10b: 29%.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. One county included FWAB ballots in their 

answers.

Maryland --- Maryland included FWABS in their totals for B10, Absentee ballots counted breakout.

Ohio --- For one county, Federal write-ins were counted with Absentee not separately.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

Question B11:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B11a: 2%. B11b: 3%.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. One county had a total of 32 FWAB ballots 

counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county counted all 5 FWABs in B11b, because they were unable to separate.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

Question B12:

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.
5 8 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services

Domestic or Overseas

Non-military/Civilian

Overseas

Other Voter

(See Comments)

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 520 1 388 1 74.6 132 1 25.4 0 0 

Arizona 15 175 15 74 12 42.3 68 12 38.9 33 14 Arkansas 75 285 62 274 42 96.1 56 33 19.6 0 1 California 58 3,956 55 1,443 48 36.5 1,460 49 36.9 1,575 12 Colorado 64 772 44 97 24 12.6 213 29 27.6 400 20 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 127 3 34 3 26.8 93 3 73.2 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,556 1 119 1 7.6 1,215 1 78.1 0 0 Florida 67 2,311 67 1,538 67 66.6 529 67 22.9 155 67 Georgia 159 389 158 207 159 53.2 182 159 46.8 0 158 Hawaii 4 17 1 14 1 82.4 3 1 17.6 0 0 Idaho 44 394 44 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 394 44 Illinois 1 497 1 149 1 30.0 95 1 19.1 253 1 Indiana 92 3,980 92 3,279 92 82.4 638 92 16.0 0 0 Iowa 99 387 99 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kansas 105 535 100 314 104 58.7 101 86 18.9 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 452 64 337 64 74.6 115 64 25.4 0 0 Maine 499 117 499 46 499 39.3 71 499 60.7 0 0 Maryland 24 1,235 24 87 24 7.0 269 24 21.8 879 24 Massachusetts 351 1,029 351 195 351 19.0 711 351 69.1 0 0 Michigan 83 1,489 83 1,079 83 72.5 410 83 27.5 0 0 Minnesota 87 769 87 306 87 39.8 463 87 60.2 0 0 Mississippi 82 135 30 112 18 83.0 14 13 10.4 0 6 

Missouri 116 635 115 535 73 84.3 279 50 43.9 7 3 Montana 56 247 55 198 55 80.2 49 55 19.8 0 0 Nebraska 93 213 93 133 93 62.4 79 93 37.1 0 0 Nevada 17 601 15 356 14 59.2 244 14 40.6 1 15 New Hampshire 323 151 323 86 323 57.0 66 323 43.7 0 0 New Jersey 21 377 21 76 21 20.2 173 21 45.9 3 21 New Mexico 33 36 17 15 12 41.7 8 12 22.2 0 9 

New York 1 4,155 1 1,297 1 31.2 2,858 1 68.8 0 0 

North Carolina 100 1,043 100 856 100 82.1 187 100 17.9 0 0 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of VoterState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Voter, for All Ballots 

Uniformed Services

Domestic or Overseas

Non-military/Civilian

Overseas

Other Voter

(See Comments)

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 23 53 15 53 65.2 8 53 34.8 0 53 

Ohio 88 1,341 85 604 81 45.0 668 77 49.8 7 32 Oklahoma 77 397 77 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 397 77 

Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 213 67 103 67 48.4 99 67 46.5 11 67 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 276 46 182 46 65.9 94 46 34.1 0 0 South Dakota 66 106 33 89 24 84.0 30 20 28.3 0 6 Tennessee 95 830 95 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Texas 254 4,503 235 2,470 127 54.9 1,200 124 26.6 0 1 Utah 29 136 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 129 245 39 245 30.2 92 245 71.3 0 0 Virginia 134 2,275 134 1,320 134 58.0 955 134 42.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 171 25 41 10 24.0 4 5 2.3 0 0 Wisconsin 72 297 72 127 72 42.8 170 72 57.2 Wyoming 23 42 11 27 11 64.3 15 11 35.7 0 0 American Samoa 1 1 1 1 1 100.0 9 1 900.0 0 1 Guam 1 14 1 12 1 85.7 2 1 14.3 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 194 1 65 1 33.5 129 1 66.5 0 0 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 39,533 3,831 18,739 3,246 47.4 14,256 3,181 36.1 4,115 635 States Included 48 43 43 13 Question B13 B15a B15b B15c 
6 0 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 21. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Voter

Questions B13, B15. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of voter.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Question B13:

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Dakota --- One ballot was rejected for missing the deadline but was not reported in the table.

Question B15:

California --- One county reported an unexplained “discrepancy” that is showing one more rejected voter in the breakout 

than in the reported total.

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B15a and B15b are 

the breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B15c is the number of FWABs rejected. B15a and B15b are the same as 

B16a and B16b.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Carolina --- For South Carolina, all UOCAVA ballots are “absentee.” FWAB ballots are not tracked separately. 

Therefore, B15 and B16 are the same.
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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for All Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comme

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 520 1 173 1 33.3 347 1 66.7 0 0 Arizona 15 175 15 118 9 67.4 21 9 12.0 0 7 Arkansas 75 285 62 522 29 183.2 82 20 28.8 0 6 California 58 3,956 55 2,244 38 56.7 496 26 12.5 1,157 16 Colorado 64 772 44 369 26 47.8 388 11 50.3 8 2 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 127 3 83 3 65.4 44 3 34.6 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,556 1 1,334 1 85.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 2,311 67 1,104 66 47.8 341 66 14.8 0 67 Georgia 159 389 158 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 17 1 28 2 164.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 Idaho 44 394 44 291 44 73.9 103 44 26.1 0 0 Illinois 1 497 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 3,980 92 3,917 92 98.4 63 28 1.6 0 0 Iowa 99 387 99 294 99 76.0 93 98 24.0 0 0 Kansas 105 535 100 0 1 0.0 73 81 13.6 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 452 64 452 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 117 499 67 499 57.3 15 499 12.8 35 499 Maryland 24 1,235 24 356 24 28.8 879 24 71.2 0 0 Massachusetts 351 1,029 351 819 351 79.6 88 351 8.6 0 0 Michigan 83 1,489 83 1,087 83 73.0 402 83 27.0 0 0 Minnesota 87 769 87 745 87 96.9 6 87 0.8 0 87 Mississippi 82 135 30 96 12 71.1 2 5 1.5 0 3 Missouri 116 635 115 415 43 65.4 157 12 24.7 0 5 Montana 56 247 55 214 55 86.6 33 54 13.4 0 0 Nebraska 93 213 93 0 0 0.0 5 3 2.3 0 0 Nevada 17 601 15 379 14 63.1 198 6 32.9 0 0 New Hampshire 323 151 323 145 323 96.0 7 323 4.6 0 0 New Jersey 21 377 21 252 21 66.8 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 36 17 1 5 2.8 11 4 30.6 0 2 New York 1 4,155 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 1,043 100 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 
62 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 22. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, All VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for All Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comme

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 23 53 23 53 100.0 0 53 0.0 0 53 

Ohio 88 1,341 85 938 72 69.9 347 59 25.9 6 36 Oklahoma 77 397 77 252 77 63.5 137 77 34.5 8 77 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 213 67 0 0 0.0 605 57 284.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 276 46 276 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 106 33 116 19 109.4 21 11 19.8 0 6 Tennessee 95 830 95 0 0 0.0 307 94 37.0 0 0 Texas 254 4,503 235 1,932 117 42.9 954 111 21.2 0 0 Utah 29 136 29 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Vermont 246 129 245 129 245 100.0 2 245 1.6 0 0 Virginia 134 2,275 134 2,275 134 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 171 25 34 3 19.9 0 2 0.0 26 2 Wisconsin 72 297 72 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Wyoming 23 42 11 42 11 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 1 1 1 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Guam 1 14 1 14 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 194 1 194 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 39,533 3,831 21,731 2,772 55.0 6,227 2,548 15.8 1,240 872 States Included 48 38 30 6 Question B13 B16a+b+c B17a+b+c B18a+b+c 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 388 1 132 1 34.0 256 1 66.0 0 0 Arizona 15 74 12 64 9 86.5 9 9 12.2 0 7 Arkansas 75 274 42 140 29 51.1 57 20 20.8 0 6 California 58 1,443 48 1,198 38 83.0 168 26 11.6 0 16 Colorado 64 97 24 80 21 82.5 22 7 22.7 0 0 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 34 3 31 3 91.2 3 3 8.8 0 3 District of Columbia 1 119 1 119 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 1,538 67 854 66 55.5 184 66 12.0 0 66 Georgia 159 207 159 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 14 1 23 2 164.3 0 0 0.0 0 0 Idaho 44 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Illinois 1 149 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 3,279 92 3,279 92 100.0 25 28 0.8 0 0 Iowa 99 0 0 208 99 ... 40 98 ... 0 0 Kansas 105 314 104 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 337 64 337 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 46 499 35 499 76.1 2 499 4.3 9 499 Maryland 24 87 24 87 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 195 351 180 351 92.3 15 350 7.7 0 0 Michigan 83 1,079 83 808 83 74.9 271 83 25.1 0 0 Minnesota 87 306 87 300 87 98.0 6 87 2.0 0 87 Mississippi 82 112 18 81 12 72.3 1 5 0.9 0 3 Missouri 116 535 73 290 43 54.2 77 12 14.4 0 5 Montana 56 198 55 173 55 87.2 25 54 12.6 0 0 Nebraska 93 133 93 0 0 0.0 4 3 3.0 0 0 Nevada 17 356 14 231 13 64.9 109 6 30.6 0 0 New Hampshire 323 86 323 85 323 98.8 1 323 1.2 0 0 New Jersey 21 76 21 76 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 15 12 1 5 6.7 2 4 13.3 0 2 New York 1 1,297 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 856 100 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 
6 4 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 23. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Uniformed Services VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Uniformed Services Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 15 53 15 53 100.0 0 53 0.0 0 53 

Ohio 88 604 81 474 72 78.5 133 59 22.0 0 35 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 103 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 182 46 182 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 89 24 87 19 97.8 12 11 13.5 0 6 Tennessee 95 0 0 0 0 ... 307 94 ... 0 0 Texas 254 2,470 127 1,323 116 53.6 466 111 18.9 0 0 Utah 29 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Vermont 246 39 245 39 245 100.0 0 245 0.0 0 0 Virginia 134 1,320 134 1,320 134 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 41 10 34 3 82.9 0 2 0.0 4 2 Wisconsin 72 127 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 27 11 27 11 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 1 1 1 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Guam 1 12 1 12 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 65 1 65 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 18,739 3,246 12,391 2,643 66.1 2,195 2,260 11.7 13 791 States Included 43 36 24 2 Question B15a B16a B17a B18a 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 132 1 41 1 31.1 91 1 68.9 0 0 Arizona 15 68 12 54 9 79.4 12 9 17.6 0 7 Arkansas 75 56 33 382 21 682.1 25 15 44.6 0 6 California 58 1,460 49 1,031 37 70.6 262 25 17.9 0 15 Colorado 64 213 29 168 26 78.9 36 11 16.9 0 0 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 93 3 52 3 55.9 41 3 44.1 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,215 1 1,215 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 529 67 172 66 32.5 80 66 15.1 0 66 Georgia 159 182 159 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 3 1 5 2 166.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 Idaho 44 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Illinois 1 95 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 638 92 638 92 100.0 28 26 4.4 0 0 Iowa 99 0 0 86 99 ... 53 98 ... 0 0 Kansas 105 101 86 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 115 64 115 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 71 499 32 499 45.1 13 499 18.3 26 499 Maryland 24 269 24 269 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 711 351 639 351 89.9 73 351 10.3 0 0 Michigan 83 410 83 279 83 68.0 131 83 32.0 0 0 Minnesota 87 463 87 445 87 96.1 18 87 3.9 0 87 Mississippi 82 14 13 15 7 107.1 1 4 7.1 0 3 Missouri 116 279 50 125 25 44.8 80 11 28.7 0 4 Montana 56 49 55 41 55 83.7 8 54 16.3 0 0 Nebraska 93 79 93 0 0 0.0 1 1 1.3 0 0 Nevada 17 244 14 147 13 60.2 89 6 36.5 0 0 New Hampshire 323 66 323 60 323 90.9 6 323 9.1 0 0 New Jersey 21 173 21 173 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 8 12 0 4 0.0 9 4 112.5 0 2 New York 1 2,858 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 187 100 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 
6 6 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comments

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 8 53 8 53 100.0 0 53 0.0 0 53 

Ohio 88 668 77 463 66 69.3 214 52 32.0 0 36 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 99 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 94 46 94 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 30 20 29 17 96.7 9 10 30.0 0 6 Tennessee 95 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Texas 254 1,200 124 609 117 50.8 488 111 40.7 0 0 Utah 29 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Vermont 246 92 245 90 245 97.8 2 245 2.2 0 0 Virginia 134 955 134 955 134 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 4 5 0 2 0.0 0 2 0.0 22 2 Wisconsin 72 170 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 15 11 15 11 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 9 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Guam 1 2 1 2 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 129 1 129 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 14,256 3,181 8,578 2,606 60.2 1,770 2,151 12.4 48 790 States Included 43 33 24 2 Question B15b B16b B17b B18b 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 67

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 22, 23, 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian

Questions B13, B15, B16, B17, B18. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by type of ballot.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with the 

total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is a 

negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting. For Montana: The balance column indicates an over-count as Absentee ballots included the count of 

FWABs.

Question B13:

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Dakota --- One ballot was rejected for missing the deadline but was not reported in the table.

Question B15:

California --- One county reported an unexplained “discrepancy” that is showing one more rejected voter in the breakout 

than in the reported total.

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B15a and B15b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B15c is the number of FWABs rejected. B15a and B15b are the same as B16a 

and B16b.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Carolina --- For South Carolina, all UOCAVA ballots are absentee. FWAB ballots are not tracked separately. 

Therefore, B15 and B16 are the same.
6 8 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Tables 22, 23, 24. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Type of Ballot for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian 

(continued)

Question B16:

California --- One county included FWABs in their reporting of UOCAVA absentee.

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

Question B17:

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

Question B18:

Indiana --- Indiana was not able to collect rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of 

Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some 

FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in 

SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for RejectionState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comme

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 132 1 41 1 31.1 91 1 68.9 0 0 Arizona 15 68 12 54 9 79.4 12 9 17.6 0 7 Arkansas 75 56 33 382 21 682.1 25 15 44.6 0 6 California 58 1,460 49 1,031 37 70.6 262 25 17.9 0 15 Colorado 64 213 29 168 26 78.9 36 11 16.9 0 0 Connecticut 169 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 93 3 52 3 55.9 41 3 44.1 0 3 District of Columbia 1 1,215 1 1,215 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Florida 67 529 67 172 66 32.5 80 66 15.1 0 66 Georgia 159 182 159 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Hawaii 4 3 1 5 2 166.7 0 0 0.0 0 0 Idaho 44 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Illinois 1 95 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Indiana 92 638 92 638 92 100.0 28 26 4.4 0 0 Iowa 99 0 0 86 99 ... 53 98 ... 0 0 Kansas 105 101 86 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Kentucky 120 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Louisiana 64 115 64 115 64 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Maine 499 71 499 32 499 45.1 13 499 18.3 26 499 Maryland 24 269 24 269 24 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Massachusetts 351 711 351 639 351 89.9 73 351 10.3 0 0 Michigan 83 410 83 279 83 68.0 131 83 32.0 0 0 Minnesota 87 463 87 445 87 96.1 18 87 3.9 0 87 Mississippi 82 14 13 15 7 107.1 1 4 7.1 0 3 Missouri 116 279 50 125 25 44.8 80 11 28.7 0 4 Montana 56 49 55 41 55 83.7 8 54 16.3 0 0 Nebraska 93 79 93 0 0 0.0 1 1 1.3 0 0 Nevada 17 244 14 147 13 60.2 89 6 36.5 0 0 New Hampshire 323 66 323 60 323 90.9 6 323 9.1 0 0 New Jersey 21 173 21 173 21 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 New Mexico 33 8 12 0 4 0.0 9 4 112.5 0 2 New York 1 2,858 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 

North Carolina 100 187 100 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 
70 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for RejectionState

Election Juris.

in Survey

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected 

from These Voters

UOCAVA Ballots Rejected, by Type of Ballot, for Non-military/Civilian Voters 

Absentee Ballots

Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots 

(FWAB) Other Ballot (See Comme

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 8 53 8 53 100.0 0 53 0.0 0 53 

Ohio 88 668 77 463 66 69.3 214 52 32.0 0 36 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 99 67 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 94 46 94 46 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 South Dakota 66 30 20 29 17 96.7 9 10 30.0 0 6 Tennessee 95 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Texas 254 1,200 124 609 117 50.8 488 111 40.7 0 0 Utah 29 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Vermont 246 92 245 90 245 97.8 2 245 2.2 0 0 Virginia 134 955 134 955 134 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 4 5 0 2 0.0 0 2 0.0 22 2 Wisconsin 72 170 72 0.0 0.0 Wyoming 23 15 11 15 11 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 American Samoa 1 9 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Guam 1 2 1 2 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Puerto Rico 1 129 1 129 1 100.0 0 1 0.0 0 1 Virgin Islands 1 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 14,256 3,181 8,578 2,606 60.2 1,770 2,151 12.4 48 790 States Included 43 33 24 2 Question B15b B16b B17b B18b 
20 0 8 ELECTION DATA COLLECTION GR ANT PROGR AM E VALUATION REPORT • 71

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y FINDINGS, NOVEMBER 20 0 9

Table 25. UOCAVA Ballots Rejected: Reason for Rejection

Questions B13, B14. Number of UOCAVA ballots (regular plus FWAB) rejected by reason for rejection.

General note: The Balance/Not Categorized column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical responses with 

the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. If the balance is 

a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is greater than the total 

indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some responses, resulting in 

some over-counting.

Question B13:

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Dakota --- One ballot was rejected for missing the deadline but was not reported in the table.

Question B14:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percentages. B14a: 23%. B14c: 33%. B14e: 44%.

California --- One county reported an unexplained “discrepancy” that is showing more rejected voters in the breakout than 

in the reported total. One county reported that 1 ballot was rejected because no voter declaration with ballot. For B14b, no 

signature, one county included ballots rejected for not having a cover sheet, and one county included ballots rejected for 

signatures that do not match.

Iowa --- Several counties rejected a total of 32 additional FWABs because they submitted their UOCAVA ballot.

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Ohio --- One county only reported on Absentee ballots, not FWAB rejections.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C5a:v.
72 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, All VotersState

Election

Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted & 

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from 

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted 

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from 

All Voters

% of 

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from 

All Voters

Sub

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 9,361 67 6,486 67 69.3 0 0 0.0 0 0 

Alaska 1 14,232 1 12,103 1 85.0 11,583 1 95.7 520 1 

Arizona 15 14,590 15 9,171 15 62.9 9,022 15 98.4 175 15 Arkansas 75 6,860 68 4,028 65 58.7 3,667 58 91.0 285 62 California 58 105,545 58 69,823 57 66.2 65,518 56 93.8 3,956 55 Colorado 64 17,789 64 13,289 60 74.7 11,719 60 88.2 772 44 Connecticut 169 5,341 169 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 2,207 3 1,722 3 78.0 1,595 3 92.6 127 3 District of Columbia 1 4,296 1 1,350 1 31.4 2,740 1 203.0 1,556 1 Florida 67 123,614 67 97,278 67 78.7 95,014 67 97.7 2,311 67 Georgia 159 25,035 159 17,229 159 68.8 16,840 159 97.7 389 158 Hawaii 4 3,880 4 2,375 2 61.2 2,375 2 100.0 17 1 Idaho 44 3,901 44 3,085 44 79.1 2,665 44 86.4 394 44 Illinois 1 26,316 1 17,372 1 66.0 0 0 0.0 497 1 Indiana 92 15,788 92 8,145 92 51.6 5,169 92 63.5 3,980 92 Iowa 99 6,218 99 4,760 99 76.6 4,368 99 91.8 387 99 Kansas 105 6,954 101 3,158 85 45.4 5,021 103 159.0 535 100 Kentucky 120 6,881 120 5,236 120 76.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 Louisiana 64 9,221 64 6,538 64 70.9 6,086 64 93.1 452 64 Maine 499 2,154 499 2,092 499 97.1 1,494 499 71.4 117 499 Maryland 24 19,099 24 14,419 24 75.5 13,184 24 91.4 1,235 24 Massachusetts 351 18,439 351 13,931 351 75.6 12,753 351 91.5 1,029 351 Michigan 83 22,344 83 16,444 83 73.6 16,444 83 100.0 1,489 83 Minnesota 87 16,501 87 12,091 87 73.3 11,322 87 93.6 769 87 

Mississippi 82 5,684 44 1,232 36 21.7 2,037 36 165.3 135 30 Missouri 116 17,445 116 13,785 116 79.0 12,020 116 87.2 635 115 Montana 56 5,645 55 3,638 55 64.4 3,391 55 93.2 247 55 Nebraska 93 3,448 93 2,713 93 78.7 2,501 93 92.2 213 93 Nevada 17 7,845 17 4,675 17 59.6 4,574 16 97.8 601 15 New Hampshire 323 4,425 323 3,462 323 78.2 3,311 323 95.6 151 323 New Jersey 21 18,725 21 12,811 21 68.4 7,009 21 54.7 377 21 New Mexico 33 3,283 22 1,706 17 52.0 1,403 14 82.2 36 17 New York 1 83,422 1 54,220 1 65.0 50,065 1 92.3 4,155 1 

North Carolina 100 20,559 100 13,137 100 63.9 12,540 100 95.5 1,043 100 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 26. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, All VotersState

Election

Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted & 

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from 

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted 

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from 

All Voters

% of 

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from 

All Voters

Sub

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 1,374 53 1,018 53 74.1 1,001 53 98.3 23 53 Ohio 88 34,017 87 27,469 86 80.8 26,319 85 95.8 1,341 85 Oklahoma 77 8,992 77 6,672 77 74.2 6,275 77 94.0 397 77 

Oregon 36 12,179 36 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Pennsylvania 67 40,279 67 31,970 67 79.4 31,818 67 99.5 213 67 Rhode Island 39 1,125 39 0 0 0.0 894 39 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 12,134 46 8,943 46 73.7 8,667 46 96.9 276 46 South Dakota 66 3,466 59 2,794 48 80.6 2,521 42 90.2 106 33 Tennessee 95 20,046 95 0 0 0.0 14,494 95 ... 830 95 Texas 254 96,119 248 69,837 242 72.7 56,274 234 80.6 4,503 235 Utah 29 4,859 29 3,219 29 66.2 3,122 29 97.0 136 29 Vermont 246 2,582 246 2,155 246 83.5 2,129 246 98.8 129 245 Virginia 134 42,274 134 29,258 134 69.2 28,816 134 98.5 2,275 134 Washington 39 61,934 39 30,389 38 49.1 45,929 39 151.1 0 0 West Virginia 55 4,219 40 2,606 32 61.8 1,554 27 59.6 171 25 Wisconsin 72 10,102 72 7,570 72 74.9 6,977 72 92.2 297 72 Wyoming 23 1,728 23 1,328 22 76.9 1,268 23 95.5 42 11 American Samoa 1 310 1 278 1 89.7 278 1 100.0 1 1 Guam 1 337 1 226 1 67.1 226 1 100.0 14 1 Puerto Rico 1 2,095 1 1,224 1 58.4 1,224 1 100.0 194 1 Virgin Islands 1 122 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 1,017,340 4,427 680,460 4,020 66.9 637,216 3,954 93.6 39,533 3,831 States Included 55 50 49 48 Question B1a+B6a:c B3 B8 B13 
74 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, Uniformed Service VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted &

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from 

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted 

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from 

These Voters

% of 

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from 

These Voters

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Alaska 1 12,224 1 10,489 1 85.8 10,101 1 96.3 388 1 Arizona 15 7,817 15 4,470 10 57.2 4,484 12 100.3 74 12 Arkansas 75 4,576 69 2,560 61 55.9 1,745 56 68.2 274 42 California 58 51,591 55 25,181 53 48.8 24,115 53 95.8 1,443 48 Colorado 64 5,222 55 3,331 55 63.8 3,298 55 99.0 97 24 Connecticut 169 1,161 169 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 1,228 3 861 3 70.1 828 3 96.2 34 3 District of Columbia 1 260 1 109 1 41.9 109 1 100.0 119 1 Florida 67 88,187 67 66,668 67 75.6 66,007 67 99.0 1,538 67 Georgia 159 16,215 159 10,693 159 65.9 10,486 159 98.1 207 159 Hawaii 4 1,874 4 998 2 53.3 998 2 100.0 14 1 Idaho 44 2,659 44 2,089 44 78.6 1,874 44 89.7 0 0 Illinois 1 9,858 1 7,276 1 73.8 7,147 1 98.2 149 1 Indiana 92 9,862 92 4,745 92 48.1 3,563 92 75.1 3,279 92 Iowa 99 3,351 99 2,409 99 71.9 2,160 99 89.7 0 0 Kansas 105 3,587 105 2,698 104 75.2 2,260 103 83.8 314 104 Kentucky 120 4,926 120 3,591 120 72.9 0 0 0.0 0 0 Louisiana 64 6,796 64 4,635 64 68.2 4,298 64 92.7 337 64 Maine 499 781 499 761 499 97.4 478 499 62.8 46 499 Maryland 24 5,556 24 3,526 24 63.5 3,439 24 97.5 87 24 Massachusetts 351 3,469 351 2,449 350 70.6 2,415 351 98.6 195 351 Michigan 83 13,547 83 10,483 83 77.4 10,483 83 100.0 1,079 83 Minnesota 87 5,858 87 3,702 87 63.2 3,396 87 91.7 306 87 

Mississippi 82 1,768 42 1,343 38 76.0 912 32 67.9 112 18 Missouri 116 10,589 116 8,101 111 76.5 7,765 113 95.9 535 73 Montana 56 4,364 55 2,667 54 61.1 2,469 54 92.6 198 55 Nebraska 93 2,161 93 1,639 93 75.8 1,498 93 91.4 133 93 Nevada 17 5,063 17 2,828 15 55.9 2,811 16 99.4 356 14 New Hampshire 323 2,706 323 2,112 323 78.0 2,028 323 96.0 86 323 New Jersey 21 4,453 21 0 0 0.0 1,281 21 ... 76 21 New Mexico 33 745 19 593 18 79.6 265 12 44.7 15 12 New York 1 22,900 1 12,879 1 56.2 11,582 1 89.9 1,297 1 

North Carolina 100 14,403 100 8,891 100 61.7 8,442 100 94.9 856 100 
20 0 8 ElEction dAtA collEction gr Ant progr Am 

UniformEd And ovErSE AS citizEnS AbSEntEE voting Act SUrvE y 

2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 27. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, Uniformed Service VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted &

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from 

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted 

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from 

These Voters

% of 

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from 

These Voters

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 936 53 646 53 69.0 634 53 98.1 15 53 Ohio 88 14,088 85 13,094 85 92.9 8,473 84 64.7 604 81 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 5,951 36 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Pennsylvania 67 23,100 67 17,523 67 75.9 17,450 67 99.6 103 67 Rhode Island 39 1,087 39 0 0 0.0 704 39 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 8,935 46 6,306 46 70.6 6,124 46 97.1 182 46 South Dakota 66 2,829 52 2,159 44 76.3 1,775 41 82.2 89 24 Tennessee 95 15,814 95 0 0 0.0 10,944 95 ... 0 0 Texas 254 56,883 243 42,015 233 73.9 37,683 230 89.7 2,470 127 Utah 29 2,146 29 1,337 29 62.3 1,300 29 97.2 0 0 Vermont 246 842 246 670 246 79.6 673 246 100.4 39 245 Virginia 134 20,951 134 14,107 134 67.3 13,770 134 97.6 1,320 134 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 2,073 39 1,717 31 82.8 1,566 28 91.2 41 10 Wisconsin 72 5,565 72 4,177 72 75.1 3,923 72 93.9 127 72 Wyoming 23 1,383 23 1,038 18 75.1 1,004 18 96.7 27 11 American Samoa 1 259 1 240 1 92.7 240 1 100.0 1 1 Guam 1 170 1 113 1 66.5 113 1 100.0 12 1 Puerto Rico 1 1,031 1 1,031 1 100.0 516 1 50.0 65 1 Virgin Islands 1 117 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 493,917 4,217 320,950 3,793 65.0 309,629 3,806 96.5 18,739 3,246 States Included 52 46 48 43 Question B1b+B6a B4a B9a B15a 
76 • U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE commiSSion

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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted & 

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from

These Voters

% of

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from

These Voters

Sub

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

Alabama 67 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 

Alaska 1 2,008 1 1,614 1 80.4 1,482 1 91.8 132 1 

Arizona 15 6,626 15 4,284 10 64.7 4,280 12 99.9 68 12 Arkansas 75 1,279 66 1,203 56 94.1 871 50 72.4 56 33 California 58 50,190 55 38,331 51 76.4 37,159 51 96.9 1,460 49 Colorado 64 9,640 48 6,011 51 62.4 5,821 51 96.8 213 29 Connecticut 169 4,180 169 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Delaware 3 979 3 861 3 87.9 767 3 89.1 93 3 District of Columbia 1 2,646 1 1,241 1 46.9 1,241 1 100.0 1,215 1 Florida 67 35,237 67 25,111 67 71.3 25,325 67 100.9 529 67 Georgia 159 8,820 159 6,536 159 74.1 6,354 159 97.2 182 159 Hawaii 4 2,006 4 1,377 2 68.6 1,377 2 100.0 3 1 Idaho 44 1,242 44 996 44 80.2 791 44 79.4 0 0 Illinois 1 5,469 1 4,374 1 80.0 4,284 1 97.9 95 1 Indiana 92 5,133 92 3,400 92 66.2 1,606 92 47.2 638 92 Iowa 99 2,867 99 2,351 99 82.0 2,208 99 93.9 0 0 Kansas 105 2,178 98 1,318 94 60.5 1,247 96 94.6 101 86 Kentucky 120 1,955 120 1,645 120 84.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 Louisiana 64 2,425 64 1,903 64 78.5 1,788 64 94.0 115 64 Maine 499 1,373 499 1,331 499 96.9 1,016 499 76.3 71 499 Maryland 24 11,903 24 9,253 24 77.7 9,253 24 100.0 269 24 Massachusetts 351 15,183 351 11,402 351 75.1 10,394 351 91.2 711 351 Michigan 83 8,797 83 5,961 83 67.8 5,961 83 100.0 410 83 Minnesota 87 10,644 87 8,389 87 78.8 7,926 87 94.5 463 87 Mississippi 82 322 34 568 29 176.4 188 25 33.1 14 13 

Missouri 116 5,562 108 4,368 104 78.5 4,154 100 95.1 279 50 Montana 56 1,281 55 961 54 75.0 912 54 94.9 49 55 Nebraska 93 1,287 93 1,074 93 83.4 1,003 93 93.4 79 93 Nevada 17 2,780 17 1,812 15 65.2 1,763 15 97.3 244 14 New Hampshire 323 1,719 323 1,350 323 78.5 1,283 323 95.0 66 323 New Jersey 21 8,936 21 6,541 21 73.2 4,103 21 62.7 173 21 New Mexico 33 301 19 270 17 89.7 172 13 63.7 8 12 New York 1 60,522 1 41,341 1 68.3 38,483 1 93.1 2,858 1 

North Carolina 100 6,156 100 4,246 100 69.0 4,098 100 96.5 187 100 
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2008 Election Administration and Voting SurveyTable 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as % of Transmitted; Counted, Rejected as % of Cast, Non-military/Civilian VotersState

Election Juris.

in Survey

Ballots Transmitted & 

FWABs

Ballots Submitted from

All Voters

% of 

Transmitted

& FWABs

Ballots Counted from

These Voters

% of

Submitted 

(Cast)

Ballots Rejected from

These Voters

Sub

Total Cases Total Cases Pct. Total Cases Pct. Total Cases 

North Dakota 53 438 53 372 53 84.9 367 53 98.7 8 53 

Ohio 88 14,019 85 12,953 85 92.4 16,348 84 126.2 668 77 Oklahoma 77 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 Oregon 36 6,228 36 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 

Pennsylvania 67 17,184 67 14,447 67 84.1 14,368 67 99.5 99 67 Rhode Island 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 South Carolina 46 3,199 46 2,637 46 82.4 2,543 46 96.4 94 46 South Dakota 66 502 43 356 35 70.9 357 33 100.3 30 20 Tennessee 95 4,232 95 0 0 0.0 3,051 95 ... 0 0 Texas 254 24,388 242 17,662 232 72.4 15,813 228 89.5 1,200 124 Utah 29 2,713 29 1,882 29 69.4 1,822 29 96.8 0 0 Vermont 246 1,740 246 1,362 246 78.3 1,456 246 106.9 92 245 Virginia 134 21,323 134 15,151 134 71.1 15,046 134 99.3 955 134 Washington 39 0 0 0 0 ... 0 0 ... 0 0 West Virginia 55 326 35 265 29 81.3 212 27 80.0 4 5 Wisconsin 72 4,537 72 3,393 72 74.8 3,065 72 90.3 170 72 Wyoming 23 345 23 290 17 84.1 264 18 91.0 15 11 American Samoa 1 51 1 38 1 74.5 38 1 100.0 9 1 Guam 1 167 1 113 1 67.7 113 1 100.0 2 1 Puerto Rico 1 1,064 1 1,064 1 100.0 708 1 66.5 129 1 Virgin Islands 1 14 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 ... 0 0 Sum of Above 4,517 384,116 4,131 273,408 3,764 71.2 262,881 3,717 96.1 14,256 3,181 States Included 51 47 47 43 Question B1c+B6b B4b B9b B15b 
78 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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Tables 26, 27, 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as a Percentage of Transmitted; Counted, or Rejected 

as a Percentage of Cast for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian

Questions B1, B3, B4, B8, B9, B13, B15. Number of UOCAVA ballots submitted for counting as a percentage of transmitted 

ballots; counted, or rejected as a percentage of submitted ballots by type of voter.

General note: The Balance of Submitted-Counted or Rejected column on the table compares the sum of all the categorical 

responses with the total indicated. If the balance is a positive number the difference is treated as uncategorized responses. 

If the balance is a negative number (indicated by the parentheses) the difference indicates the sum of the responses is 

greater than the total indicated; this could occur by an error in data entry or by the inability to correctly categorize some 

responses, resulting in some over-counting.

Note: The “Ballots Transmitted” in this table includes the numbers from B1 and the numbers from B6, as appropriate, to 

include the FWABs.

Question B1:

California --- One county only reported the total of UOCAVA ballots automatically transmitted, not those by request. Two 

counties included second ballots in their totals.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions in Illinois did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas they were 

seemly lumped in a “UOCAVA” file that is now B1d.

Mississippi --- One county grouped both military and non-military under uniformed.

South Dakota --- One county transmitted 2 additional ballots that were not reported in the numbers.

Washington --- One county included replacement ballots sent in B1a.

Question B3:

Arizona --- Two counties did not include a total of 305 ballots that were later rejected for late delivery.

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Florida --- Two counties reported a total of 52 FWABs being returned but were never requested.

Idaho --- B3 includes Spoiled Ballots but does not include Undeliverable Ballots.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Ohio --- One county did not include 3 FWAB ballots that were later rejected.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B2a and B3 are the same because South Carolina cannot breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.

South Dakota --- B2 and B3 are the same number.
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Tables 26, 27, 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as a Percentage of Transmitted; Counted, or Rejected 

as a Percentage of Cast for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian (continued)

Question B4:

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots.

Illinois --- Some jurisdictions did not segregate out between uniformed services and civilian overseas they were seemly 

lumped in a “UOCAVA” file, that is now B4c.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B4a and B4b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B4c is the number of FWABs. B5a and B5b are the same as B4a and B4b.

Missouri --- One county only had data on absentee ballots, not FWAB.

Ohio --- One county did not include 4 uniformed FWAB ballots in the breakout.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C1b.

South Carolina --- B4 and B5 are the same because South Carolina can not breakout FWAB and UOCAVA.

Question B8:

Colorado --- One county included “Special” Write-In Absentee Ballots (SWAB).

Mississippi --- One county reported 1 ballot actually not being counted even though they reported it counting.

Ohio --- One county had 59 ballots counted but did not report it in the table.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B8 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted. Once challenged, these ballots are no longer tracked as a UOCAVA ballot; they would be 

tracked simply as provisional ballots. Also, when reporting results, UOCAVA results are reported in an absentee precinct 

with all the other absentee ballots.

Question B9:

Arkansas --- One county only could provide percents. B9a 68% B9b. 32%

California --- One county did not include returns of stateside military ballots. Two counties had a total of 116 FWAB ballots 

counted but could not breakout.

Colorado --- One county double counted their 56 FWAB votes by counting them in B9a and B9b while also adding them as 

a third category of B9c.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B9a and B9b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B9c is the number of FWABs counted. B9a and B9b are the same as B10a 

and B10b.
80 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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Tables 26, 27, 28. UOCAVA Ballots: Cast as a Percentage of Transmitted; Counted, or Rejected 

as a Percentage of Cast for All Voters; Uniformed; Civilian (continued)

Ohio --- One county wrote, “The difference in our official count and the total number who participated in the November 

2008 General Election is due to the situation where we credited the voters for voting in this election, although their vote 

was not included as counting in the official count.”

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4a.

South Carolina --- B9 is the best possible estimation available. It is possible that some of these ballots could have been 

challenged and not counted.

Question B13:

Michigan --- Decisions on rejected absentee ballots & FWABs are made in the clerk’s office before the ballots are submitted 

to the appropriate precinct board for counting.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Dakota --- One ballot was rejected for missing the deadline but was not reported in the table.

Question B15:

California --- One county reported an unexplained “discrepancy” that is showing one more rejected voter in the breakout 

than in the reported total.

Indiana --- a) Absentee ballots were counted as Cast in this survey if the county user placed the ballot in Received status 

within the Indiana SVRS prior to marking the ballot as “Accepted (Counted)” or “Rejected (Not Counted).” If the county 

marked the status of the ballot as “Accepted” or “Rejected” before marking it as “Received” those ballot statistics were not 

added to the total number of Cast ballot, so that Cast ballot counts were not inflated. b) Indiana was not able to collect 

rejected FWAB statistics from all counties, which makes the total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected incomplete. 

The total number of Indiana UOCAVA ballots rejected is missing some FWAB counts. Also note that a ballot is marked as 

Rejected in the Indiana SVRS for two reasons; (1) if the ballot was received and not counted or (2) if the ballot was not received back from the voter. Therefore, a ballot marked as “Rejected” in SVRS is not necessarily a “Cast” ballot.

Maryland --- Maryland was unable to break down FWABs into UOCAVA and non-military overseas. B15a and B15b are the 

breakdowns of UOCAVA absentee ballots, and B15c is the number of FWABs rejected. B15a and B15b are the same as B16a 

and B16b.

Oregon --- Unable to separate UOCAVA voters from all absentee voters. See C4b.

South Carolina --- For South Carolina, all UOCAVA ballots are “absentee.” FWAB ballots are not tracked separately. 

Therefore, B15 and B16 are the same.
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Appendix B – Questionnaire (UOCAVA Questions Only)

U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

2008 Election Administration & Voting Survey

The ongoing process of improving America’s election systems relies in part on having accurate data about the way Americans cast their 

ballots. In 2002, Congress chartered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to collect information on the state of American elections 

and make it widely available to policy makers, advocates, scholars, journalists and the general public. Since 2004, the Commission has 

sponsored an Election Day Survey as its primary tool for fulfilling that mission. We are pleased to present the 2008 Election Day Survey, 

and we ask for your help in making it the most complete and accurate survey in its history. 

The questions below ask for information about ballots cast; voter registration; overseas and military voting; Election Day activities; voting technology; and other important issues. Many of these questions are mandated by the Help America Vote Act and other federal laws, 

while other questions were included at the request of the research community or policy makers. The EAC recognizes the burden that 

asking for this data places on state and local election officials, and we have worked to minimize that burden as much as possible. 

In advance, we thank you for your cooperation and look forward to answering any questions you might have.

Information supplied by:

Name Title

Office/Agency name

Address 1

Address 2

City State Zip Code

E-mail address

Telephone (area code and number) Extension Fax number (area code and number)
82 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 
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UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 
86 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 
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UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 
88 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

UNIFORMED AND OVERSE AS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT SURVE Y 
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9 0 • U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

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* This information collection is required for the EAC to meet its statutory requirements under the Help America 

Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301), the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-1 et seq.), 

and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act (UOCAVA) (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1). Respondent’s 

obligation to reply to this information collection is mandatory as required under NVRA (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-1 et 

seq.) and UOCAVA (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1); respondents include the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. 

Territories. This information will be made publicly available on the EAC website (www.eac.gov). According to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond 

to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for 

this information collection is OMB Control No. 3265-0006 (expires 3/31/09). The time required to complete this 

information collection is estimated to average 88 hours per state response. This estimate includes the time for 

reviewing the instructions, gathering information, and completing the form. Comments regarding this burden 

estimate should be sent the U.S. Election Assistance Commission – 2008 Election Administration and Voting 

Survey, 1225 New York Avenue, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005.

OMB Control No. 3265-0006 Expiration Date: 3/31/2009
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U.S. Election Assistance Commission

1225 New York Avenue, NW

Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20005

866-747-1471 (toll free)

HAVAinfo@eac.gov

www.eac.gov 

EAC Commissioners 

Chair, Gineen Bresso Beach 

Vice Chair, Gracia Hillman 

Commissioner, Donetta Davidson 

EAC Staff 

Thomas Wilkey, Executive Director