II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1026 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 

improve procedures for the collection and delivery of marked absentee 

ballots of absent overseas uniformed services voters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2009 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, and 

Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act to improve procedures for the collection and 

delivery of marked absentee ballots of absent overseas 

uniformed services voters, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Voting Protec5 tion Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•S 1026 IS

1 (1) In the defense of freedom, members of the 

2 United States Armed Forces are routinely deployed 

3 to overseas theaters of combat, assigned to overseas 

4 locations, and assigned to ocean-going vessels far 

5 from home. 

6 (2) As the United States continues to fight the 

7 Global War on Terror, the substantial need for over8 seas service by members of the Armed Forces will 

9 continue, as we live in what senior Army leaders 

10 have referred to as an ‘‘era of persistent conflict’’. 

11 (3) The right to vote is one of the most basic 

12 and fundamental rights enjoyed by Americans, and 

13 one which the members of the Armed Forces bravely 

14 defend both at home in the United States and over15 seas. 

16 (4) The decisions of elected officials of the 

17 United States Government directly impact the mem18 bers of the Armed Forces who are often called to de19 ploy or otherwise serve overseas as a result of deci20 sions made by such elected officials. 

21 (5) The ability of the members of the Armed 

22 Forces to vote while serving overseas has been ham23 pered by numerous factors, including inadequate 

24 processes for ensuring their timely receipt of absen25 tee ballots, delivery methods that are typically slow 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•S 1026 IS

1 and antiquated, and a myriad of absentee voting 

2 procedures that are often confusing and vary among 

3 the several States. 

4 (6) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab5 sentee Voting Act, which requires the States to allow 

6 absentee voting for members of the Armed Forces 

7 and other specified groups of United States citizens, 

8 was intended to protect the voting rights of members 

9 of the Armed Forces. 

10 (7) The current system of absentee voting for 

11 overseas members of the Armed Forces could be 

12 greatly improved by decreasing delays in the process, 

13 and certain steps by the Department of Defense, in14 cluding utilization of express mail services for the 

15 delivery of completed absentee ballots, would address 

16 the major sources of delay. 

17 SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF 

18 MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 

19 OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 

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

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

22 is amended by inserting after section 103 the following 

23 new section: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•S 1026 IS

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

2 OF MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 

3 OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 

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

5 establish procedures for collecting marked absentee ballots 

6 of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly 

7 scheduled general elections for Federal office, including 

8 absentee ballots prepared by States and the Federal write9 in absentee ballot prescribed under section 103, and for 

10 delivering the ballots to the appropriate election officials. 

11 ‘‘(b) ENSURING DELIVERY PRIOR TO CLOSING OF

12 POLLS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the procedures es14 tablished under this section, the Presidential des15 ignee shall ensure that any marked absentee ballot 

16 for a regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

17 office which is collected prior to the deadline de18 scribed in paragraph (3) is delivered to the appro19 priate election official in a State prior to the time 

20 established by the State for the closing of the polls 

21 on the date of the election. 

22 ‘‘(2) UTILIZATION OF EXPRESS MAIL DELIVERY

23 SERVICES.—The Presidential designee shall carry 

24 out this section by utilizing the express mail delivery 

25 services of the United States Postal Service. 

26 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE DESCRIBED.— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•S 1026 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the deadline described in 

3 this paragraph is noon (in the location in which 

4 the ballot is collected) on the fourth day pre5 ceding the date of the election. 

6 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH ALTER7 NATIVE DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN LOCATIONS.— 

8 If the Presidential designee determines that the 

9 deadline described in subparagraph (A) is not 

10 sufficient to ensure timely delivery of the ballot 

11 under paragraph (1) with respect to a par12 ticular location because of remoteness or other 

13 factors, the Presidential designee may establish 

14 as an alternative deadline for that location the 

15 latest date occurring prior to the deadline de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) which is sufficient 

17 to ensure timely delivery of the ballot under 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(c) TRACKING MECHANISM.—Under the procedures 

20 established under this section, the Presidential designee, 

21 working in conjunction with the United States Postal 

22 Service, shall implement procedures to enable any indi23 vidual whose marked absentee ballot for a regularly sched24 uled general election for Federal office is collected by the 

25 Presidential designee to determine whether the ballot has 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•S 1026 IS

1 been delivered to the appropriate election official, using 

2 the Internet, an automated telephone system, or such 

3 other methods as the Presidential designee may provide. 

4 ‘‘(d) OUTREACH FOR ABSENT OVERSEAS UNI5 FORMED SERVICES VOTERS ON PROCEDURES.—The Pres6 idential designee shall take appropriate actions to inform 

7 individuals who are anticipated to be absent overseas uni8 formed services voters in a regularly scheduled general 

9 election for Federal office to which this section applies of 

10 the procedures for the collection and delivery of marked 

11 absentee ballots established pursuant to this section, in12 cluding the manner in which such voters may utilize such 

13 procedures for the submittal of marked absentee ballots 

14 in the election. 

15 ‘‘(e) REPORTS ON UTILIZATION OF PROCEDURES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

17 days after each regularly scheduled general election 

18 for Federal office to which this section applies, the 

19 Presidential designee shall submit to the relevant 

20 committees of Congress a report on the utilization of 

21 the procedures for the collection and delivery of 

22 marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this 

23 section during such general election. 

24 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under para25 graph (1) shall include, for the general election covVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:31 May 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1026.IS S1026

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•S 1026 IS

1 ered by such report, a description of the utilization 

2 of the procedures described in that paragraph during 

3 such general election, including the number of 

4 marked absentee ballots collected and delivered 

5 under such procedures and the number of such bal6 lots which were not delivered by the time of the clos7 ing of the polls on the date of the election (and the 

8 reasons therefor). 

9 ‘‘(3) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

10 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘relevant 

11 committees of Congress’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Committees on Appropriations, 

13 Armed Services, and Rules and Administration 

14 of the Senate; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the Committees on Appropriations, 

16 Armed Services, and House Administration of 

17 the House of Representatives. 

18 ‘‘(f) ABSENT OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES

19 VOTER DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘absent over20 seas uniformed services voter’ means an overseas voter de21 scribed in section 107(5)(A). 

22 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Presidential des24 ignee such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

25 section. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

•S 1026 IS

1 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

3 Federal office held in November 2010 and each succeeding 

4 election for Federal office.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 

7 101(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)) is amend8 ed— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (6); 

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

12 paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 paragraph: 

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

16 collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of 

17 absent overseas uniformed services voters in elec18 tions for Federal office.’’. 

19 (2) STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 102(a) 

20 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (4); 

23 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

24 paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
9 

•S 1026 IS

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

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(6) carry out section 103A(b)(2) with respect 

4 to the processing and acceptance of marked absentee 

5 ballots of absent overseas uniformed services vot6 ers.’’. 

7 (c) REPORT ON STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

10 Presidential designee under section 101(a) of the 

11 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

12 Act shall submit to the relevant committees of Con13 gress a report on the status of the implementation 

14 of the program for the collection and delivery of 

15 marked absentee ballots established pursuant to sec16 tion 103A of such Act, as added by subsection (a). 

17 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

18 (1) shall include a status of the implementation of 

19 the program and a detailed description of the spe20 cific steps taken towards its implementation for No21 vember 2010. 

22 (3) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE23 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant com24 mittees of Congress’’ has the meaning given such 

25 term in section 103A(e)(3) of the Uniformed and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
10 

•S 1026 IS

1 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, as added by 

2 subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 4. PROTECTING VOTER PRIVACY AND SECRECY OF AB4 SENTEE BALLOTS. 

5 Section 101(b) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi6 zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)), as 

7 amended by section 3(b), is amended— 

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

9 (7); 

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(9) to the greatest extent practicable, take 

15 such actions as may be required to ensure that ab16 sent uniformed services voters who cast absentee 

17 ballots at locations or facilities under the Presi18 dential designee’s jurisdiction are able to do so in a 

19 private and independent manner, and take such ac20 tions as may be required to protect the privacy of 

21 the contents of absentee ballots cast by absent uni22 formed services voters and overseas voters while 

23 such ballots are in the Presidential designee’s pos24 session or control.’’. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS