Title: Help Our Service Members and Citizens Abroad Vote Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Help Our Service Members and Citizens Abroad Vote Act
This bill modifies provisions relating to the requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters by no later than 45 days before a federal election. Specifically, the bill (1) requires each state to report on the availability, transmission, and receipt of such absentee ballots; and (2) repeals the state hardship exemption.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3300 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3300

  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
 require States to submit pre-election reports on the extent to which 
   absentee ballots for elections for Federal office are or will be 
  available for transmission to absent uniformed services voters and 
   overseas voters by not later than 45 days before the election, to 
  repeal the authority of States to waive the requirement of such Act 
that States transmit absentee ballots for such elections to such voters 
 by not later than 45 days before the election, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 2017

 Mr. Schneider (for himself and Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania) introduced 
   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 
 require States to submit pre-election reports on the extent to which 
   absentee ballots for elections for Federal office are or will be 
  available for transmission to absent uniformed services voters and 
   overseas voters by not later than 45 days before the election, to 
  repeal the authority of States to waive the requirement of such Act 
that States transmit absentee ballots for such elections to such voters 
 by not later than 45 days before the election, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help Our Service Members and 
Citizens Abroad Vote Act''.

SEC. 2. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY AND TRANSMISSION OF 
              ABSENTEE BALLOTS.

    Section 102(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 
Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(c)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Reports on Availability, Transmission, and Receipt of 
Absentee Ballots.--
            ``(1) Pre-election report on absentee ballot 
        availability.--Not later than 55 days before any regularly 
        scheduled general election for Federal office, each State shall 
        submit a report to the Attorney General, the Election 
        Assistance Commission (hereafter in this subsection referred to 
        as the `Commission'), and the Presidential Designee, and make 
        that report publicly available that same day, certifying that 
        absentee ballots for the election are or will be available for 
        transmission to absent uniformed services voters and overseas 
        voters by not later than 45 days before the election. The 
        report shall be in a form prescribed jointly by the Attorney 
        General and the Commission and shall require the State to 
        certify specific information about ballot availability from 
        each unit of local government which will administer the 
        election.
            ``(2) Pre-election report on absentee ballot 
        transmission.--Not later than 43 days before any regularly 
        scheduled general election for Federal office, each State shall 
        submit a report to the Attorney General, the Commission, and 
        the Presidential Designee, and make that report publicly 
        available that same day, certifying whether all absentee 
        ballots have been transmitted by not later than 45 days before 
        the election to all qualified absent uniformed services and 
        overseas voters whose requests were received at least 45 days 
        before the election. The report shall be in a form prescribed 
        jointly by the Attorney General and the Commission, and shall 
        require the State to certify specific information about ballot 
        transmission, including the total numbers of ballot requests 
        received and ballots transmitted, from each unit of local 
        government which will administer the election.
            ``(3) Post-election report on number of absentee ballots 
        transmitted and received.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
        office, 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 Attorney 
        General, the Commission, and the Presidential Designee 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 
        report available to the general public that same day.''.

SEC. 3. REVISIONS TO 45-DAY ABSENTEE BALLOT TRANSMISSION RULE.

    (a) Repeal of Waiver Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by 
        striking subsection (g).
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 102(a)(8)(A) of such Act 
        (52 U.S.C. 20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ``except as 
        provided in subsection (g),''.
    (b) Requiring Use of Express Delivery in Case of Failure To Meet 
Requirement.--Section 102 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by 
subsection (a), is amended by inserting after subsection (f) the 
following new subsection:
    ``(g) Requiring Use of Express Delivery in Case of Failure To 
Transmit Ballots Within Deadlines.--
            ``(1) Transmission of ballot by express delivery.--If a 
        State fails to meet the requirement of subsection (a)(8)(A) to 
        transmit a validly requested absentee ballot to an absent 
        uniformed services voter or overseas voter not later than 45 
        days before the election (in the case in which the request is 
        received at least 45 days before the election)--
                    ``(A) the State shall transmit the ballot to the 
                voter by express delivery; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a voter who has designated 
                that absentee ballots be transmitted electronically in 
                accordance with subsection (f)(1), the State shall 
                transmit the ballot to the voter electronically.
            ``(2) Special rule for transmission fewer than 40 days 
        before the election.--If, in carrying out paragraph (1), a 
        State transmits an absentee ballot to an absent uniformed 
        services voter or overseas voter fewer than 40 days before the 
        election, the State shall enable the ballot to be returned by 
        the voter by express delivery, except that in the case of an 
        absentee ballot of an absent uniformed services voter for a 
        regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the 
        State may satisfy the requirement of this paragraph by 
        notifying the voter of the procedures for the collection and 
        delivery of such ballots under section 103A.''.
    (c) Clarification of Treatment of Weekends.--Section 102(a)(8)(A) 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ``the 
election;'' and inserting the following: ``the election (or, if the 
45th day preceding the election is a weekend or legal public holiday, 
not later than the most recent weekday which precedes such 45th day and 
which is not a legal public holiday, but only if the request is 
received by at least such most recent weekday);''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to 
elections occurring on or after January 1, 2018.
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