I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2393 
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 pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2009 
Mr. MCCARTHY of California (for himself, Mr. BOREN, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. 
DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. HARPER, and Mr. TIAHRT) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Voting Protec-
tion Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) In the defense of freedom, members of the 
United States Armed Forces are routinely deployed 
to overseas theaters of combat, assigned to overseas 
locations, and assigned to ocean-going vessels far 
from home. 
(2) As the United States continues to fight the 
Global War on Terror, the substantial need for over-
seas service by members of the Armed Forces will 
continue, as we live in what senior Army leaders 
have referred to as an ‘‘era of persistent conflict’’. 
(3) The right to vote is one of the most basic 
and fundamental rights enjoyed by Americans, and 
one which the members of the Armed Forces bravely 
defend both at home in the United States and over-
seas. 
(4) The decisions of elected officials of the 
United States Government directly impact the mem-
bers of the Armed Forces who are often called to de-
ploy or otherwise serve overseas as a result of deci-
sions made by such elected officials. 
(5) The ability of the members of the Armed 
Forces to vote while serving overseas has been ham-
pered by numerous factors, including inadequate 
processes for ensuring their timely receipt of absen-
tee ballots, delivery methods that are typically slow 
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and antiquated, and a myriad of absentee voting 
procedures that are often confusing and vary among 
the several States. 
(6) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-
sentee Voting Act, which requires the States to allow 
absentee voting for members of the Armed Forces 
and other specified groups of United States citizens, 
was intended to protect the voting rights of members 
of the Armed Forces. 
(7) The current system of absentee voting for 
overseas members of the Armed Forces could be 
greatly improved by decreasing delays in the process, 
and certain steps by the Department of Defense, in-
cluding utilization of express mail services for the 
delivery of completed absentee ballots, would address 
the major sources of delay. 
SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF 
MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 
OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 103 the following 
new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 103A. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY 
OF MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT 
OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS. 
‘‘(a) COLLECTION.—The Presidential designee shall 
establish procedures for collecting marked absentee ballots 
of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly 
scheduled general elections for Federal office, including 
absentee ballots prepared by States and the Federal write- 
in absentee ballot prescribed under section 103, and for 
delivering the ballots to the appropriate election officials. 
‘‘(b) ENSURING DELIVERY PRIOR TO CLOSING OF 
POLLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the procedures es-
tablished under this section, the Presidential des-
ignee shall ensure that any marked absentee ballot 
for a regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office which is collected prior to the deadline de-
scribed in paragraph (3) is delivered to the appro-
priate election official in a State prior to the time 
established by the State for the closing of the polls 
on the date of the election. 
‘‘(2) UTILIZATION OF EXPRESS MAIL DELIVERY 
SERVICES.—The Presidential designee shall carry 
out this section by utilizing the express mail delivery 
services of the United States Postal Service. 
‘‘(3) DEADLINE DESCRIBED.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the deadline described in 
this paragraph is noon (in the location in which 
the ballot is collected) on the fourth day pre-
ceding the date of the election. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY
TO
ESTABLISH
ALTER-
NATIVE DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN LOCATIONS.— 
If the Presidential designee determines that the 
deadline described in subparagraph (A) is not 
sufficient to ensure timely delivery of the ballot 
under paragraph (1) with respect to a par-
ticular location because of remoteness or other 
factors, the Presidential designee may establish 
as an alternative deadline for that location the 
latest date occurring prior to the deadline de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) which is sufficient 
to ensure timely delivery of the ballot under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) TRACKING MECHANISM.—Under the procedures 
established under this section, the Presidential designee, 
working in conjunction with the United States Postal 
Service, shall implement procedures to enable any indi-
vidual whose marked absentee ballot for a regularly sched-
uled general election for Federal office is collected by the 
Presidential designee to determine whether the ballot has 
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been delivered to the appropriate election official, using 
the Internet, an automated telephone system, or such 
other methods as the Presidential designee may provide. 
‘‘(d) OUTREACH
FOR
ABSENT
OVERSEAS
UNI-
FORMED SERVICES VOTERS ON PROCEDURES.—The Pres-
idential designee shall take appropriate actions to inform 
individuals who are anticipated to be absent overseas uni-
formed services voters in a regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office to which this section applies of 
the procedures for the collection and delivery of marked 
absentee ballots established pursuant to this section, in-
cluding the manner in which such voters may utilize such 
procedures for the submittal of marked absentee ballots 
in the election. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS ON UTILIZATION OF PROCEDURES.— 
‘‘(1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 
days after each regularly scheduled general election 
for Federal office to which this section applies, the 
Presidential designee shall submit to the relevant 
committees of Congress a report on the utilization of 
the procedures for the collection and delivery of 
marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this 
section during such general election. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under para-
graph (1) shall include, for the general election cov-
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ered by such report, a description of the utilization 
of the procedures described in that paragraph during 
such general election, including the number of 
marked absentee ballots collected and delivered 
under such procedures and the number of such bal-
lots which were not delivered by the time of the clos-
ing of the polls on the date of the election (and the 
reasons therefor). 
‘‘(3) RELEVANT
COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘relevant 
committees of Congress’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Committees on Appropriations, 
Armed Services, and Rules and Administration 
of the Senate; and 
‘‘(B) the Committees on Appropriations, 
Armed Services, and House Administration of 
the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(f) ABSENT
OVERSEAS
UNIFORMED
SERVICES 
VOTER DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘absent over-
seas uniformed services voter’ means an overseas voter de-
scribed in section 107(5)(A). 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Presidential des-
ignee such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
section. 
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‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office held in November 2010 and each succeeding 
election for Federal office.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) 
FEDERAL
RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 
101(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (6); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(8) carry out section 103A with respect to the 
collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of 
absent overseas uniformed services voters in elec-
tions for Federal office.’’. 
(2) STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 102(a) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (4); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) carry out section 103A(b)(2) with respect 
to the processing and acceptance of marked absentee 
ballots of absent overseas uniformed services vot-
ers.’’. 
(c) REPORT ON STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Presidential designee under section 101(a) of the 
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
Act shall submit to the relevant committees of Con-
gress a report on the status of the implementation 
of the program for the collection and delivery of 
marked absentee ballots established pursuant to sec-
tion 103A of such Act, as added by subsection (a). 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 
(1) shall include a status of the implementation of 
the program and a detailed description of the spe-
cific steps taken towards its implementation for No-
vember 2010. 
(3) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE-
FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant com-
mittees of Congress’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 103A(e)(3) of the Uniformed and 
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Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, as added by 
subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. PROTECTING VOTER PRIVACY AND SECRECY OF AB-
SENTEE BALLOTS. 
Section 101(b) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
zens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)), as 
amended by section 3(b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(7); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(9) to the greatest extent practicable, take 
such actions as may be required to ensure that ab-
sent uniformed services voters who cast absentee 
ballots at locations or facilities under the Presi-
dential designee’s jurisdiction are able to do so in a 
private and independent manner, and take such ac-
tions as may be required to protect the privacy of 
the contents of absentee ballots cast by absent uni-
formed services voters and overseas voters while 
such ballots are in the Presidential designee’s pos-
session or control.’’. 
Æ 
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