PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 114.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 8, 2009
Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to require states to establish procedures for: (1) absentee uniform services voters and overseas voters to request and, states to send, federal election voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications by mail, electronically, and by facsimile; (2) transmittal of blank absentee ballots by mail, online, and by facsimile to absentee uniformed services voters and overseas voters; and (3) ensuring absentee uniformed services voters and overseas voters have time to vote.
Directs the presidential designee to establish procedures for: (1) collecting marked absentee ballots of absentee overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled federal general elections; and (2) delivering them to the appropriate state election officials.
Authorizes the use of federal write-in absentee ballots in general, special, and runoff elections for federal office, and promotion and expansion of use of such ballots as a back-up measure.
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Prohibits refusal to accept otherwise valid voter registration and absentee ballot applications, marked absentee ballots, and federal write-ins absentee ballots for failure to meet technical requirements.
Directs the presidential designee to develop standards for training, supporting, and emphasizing Voting Assistance Officers under the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the Department of Defense (DOD): (1) for all members of the uniformed services; and (2) on all installations and facilities of the uniformed services in the United States and overseas.
Requires each state and the Secretary of Defense jointly to develop and implement procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at DOD pay, personnel, and identification offices.
Requires the presidential designee to develop standards for states to report data on the number of absentee ballots transmitted and received and for storage of the data.
Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require: (1) a state to use a requirements payment made using certain funds only to meet specified UOCAVA requirements; and (2) the state plan to describe how the state will use such requirements payment to meet UOCAVA requirements.
Directs the presidential designee to establish one or more pilot programs to test the feasibility of new election technology for the benefit of absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters claiming UOCAVA rights.
People & committees
Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] · D–NY
Legislative record
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 114.
Committee on Rules and Administration. Reported by Senator Schumer with amendments. Without written report.
Committee on Rules and Administration. Reported by Senator Schumer with amendments. Without written report.
Committee on Rules and Administration. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Jan 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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