Title: Military Voting Protection Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Voting Protection Act
This bill requires military departments to provide members of the Armed Forces with a federal write-in absentee ballot together with instructions on the appropriate use of the ballot with respect to the state in which the member is registered to vote. Members intending to vote in a state that does not accept the federal write-in absentee ballot as a simultaneous application and acceptable ballot for federal elections must be provided a briefing on, and an opportunity to fill out, the official post card form for absentee voter registration application and absentee ballot application.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1566 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1566

 To require information and opportunities for registration for voting 
 and absentee ballot requests for members of the Armed Forces who are 
        undergoing deployment overseas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2019

   Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. King, Mr. Tillis, and Ms. Duckworth) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                 Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require information and opportunities for registration for voting 
 and absentee ballot requests for members of the Armed Forces who are 
        undergoing deployment overseas, 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 ``Military Voting Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGISTRATION FOR VOTING AND 
              ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUESTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
              UNDERGOING DEPLOYMENT OVERSEAS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 45 days prior to a general election 
for Federal office, a member of the Armed Forces shall be provided with 
the following:
            (1) A Federal write-in absentee ballot prescribed pursuant 
        to section 103 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 
        Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20303), together with instructions on the 
        appropriate use of the ballot with respect to the State in 
        which the member is registered to vote.
            (2) In the case of a member intending to vote in a State 
        that does not accept the Federal write-in absentee ballot as a 
        simultaneous application and acceptable ballot for Federal 
        elections, a briefing on, and an opportunity to fill out, the 
        official post card form for absentee voter registration 
        application and absentee ballot application prescribed under 
        section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
        Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(b)(2)).
    (b) Personnel Responsible of Discharge.--Ballots and instructions 
shall be provided pursuant to paragraphs(1) of subsection (a) by Voting 
Assistance Officers or such other personnel as the Secretary of the 
military department concerned shall designate.
    (c) Sense of Congress Relating to the Use of the Federal Write-In 
Absentee Ballot.--
            (1) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
                    (A) Servicemembers serving abroad are subject to 
                disproportionate challenges in voting.
                    (B) As of May, 2019, only 28 States allow 
                servicemembers to use the Federal write-in absentee 
                ballot as a simultaneous application and acceptable 
                ballot for Federal elections.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) Federal and State governments should remove all 
                obstacles that would inhibit deployed servicemembers 
                from voting; and
                    (B) States that do not allow servicemembers to use 
                the Federal write-in absentee ballot as a simultaneous 
                application and acceptable ballot for Federal elections 
                should modify their laws to permit such use.
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