To ensure that military personnel do not lose the right to cast votes in elections in their domicile as a result of their service away from the domicile, to amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to extend the voter registration and absentee ballot protections for absent uniformed services personnel under such Act to State and local elections, and for other purposes.

April 6, 2001

Mr. NELSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

To ensure that military personnel do not lose the right to cast votes in elections in their domicile as a result of their service away from the domicile, to amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to extend the voter registration and absentee ballot protections for absent uniformed services personnel under such Act to State and local elections, 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 Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds as follows:

(1) National defense is a core responsibility of the Federal Government, which has the sole authority to raise and maintain the military, and the Federal Government has a special responsibility to ensure the voting rights of military members and their families are adequately protected.

(2) Over 2,700,000 members of the military and their families are stationed away from their home of record at any given time.

(3) The disenfranchisement of military voters has been acknowledged since 1952, when the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives conducted hearings on the likely disenfranchisement of military personnel then fighting in the Korean War, and President Truman recommended the enactment of temporary legislation by Congress since it `should be possible to make all the necessary changes in State laws before the congressional elections of 1954.'

(4) The controversy during the 2000 Federal election over uncounted military absentee ballots has again shown that the votes of many military members and their families have not been counted because of confusing State and local procedures, cumbersome ballot request and submission requirements, and complicated procedures and ballots.

(5) Some States do not recognize the rights of military voters and their families to vote in their domicile of origin, further disenfranchising these voters and their families.

(6) Therefore, Federal legislation is needed to protect the voting rights of military personnel who serve in defense of our Nation.

SEC. 3. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL.

Article VII of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 (50 U.S.C. App. 590 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 704. (a) For purposes of voting for any Federal office (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) or a State or local office, a person who is absent from a State in compliance with military or naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that absence--

`(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domicile in that State, without regard to whether or not the person intends to return to that State;

`(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or domicile in any other State; or

`(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or a resident of any other State.

`(b) In this section, the term `State' includes a territory or possession of the United States, a political subdivision of a State, territory, or possession, and the District of Columbia.'.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF REGISTRATION AND BALLOTING RIGHTS FOR ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS TO STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1) is amended--

(1) by inserting `(a) ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICES- ' before `Each State shall--'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(b) ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL OFFICES- Each State shall--

`(1) permit absent uniformed services voters to use absentee registration procedures and vote by absentee ballot in general, special, primary, and runoff elections for State and local offices; and

`(2) accept and process, with respect to any election described in paragraph (1), any otherwise valid voter registration application from an absent uniformed services voter if the application is received by the appropriate State election official not less than 30 days before the date of the election.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The heading for title I of such Act is amended by striking `FOR FEDERAL OFFICE'.

SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS SUBMITTED BY ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1073ff-1), as amended by section 4, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(c) MANDATORY MINIMUM PERIOD BETWEEN AVAILABILITY OF ABSENTEE BALLOT AND DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION FOR ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS- A State shall not refuse to count an otherwise valid absentee ballot submitted in an election for Federal, State, or local office by an absent uniformed services voter on the grounds that the ballot was not submitted in a timely manner if the ballot was submitted not later than 30 days after the date on which the ballot was made available by the State.

`(d) STANDARD FOR INVALIDATION OF BALLOTS SUBMITTED BY ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS-

`(1) FRAUD-

`(A) IN GENERAL- A State shall not refuse to count an otherwise valid ballot submitted in an election for Federal office by an absent uniformed services voter on the grounds that the ballot was improperly or fraudulently cast unless the State finds clear and convincing evidence of fraud in the preparation or casting of the ballot by the voter.

`(B) EVIDENCE NOT CONSIDERED CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE OF FRAUD- The lack of a witness signature, address, postmark, or other identifying information shall not be considered clear and convincing evidence of fraud under subparagraph (A), absent other information or evidence.

`(2) NO EFFECT ON FILING DEADLINES UNDER STATE LAW- Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the applicability of any ballot submission deadline under State law to absentee ballots submitted by absent uniformed services voters (taking into account the requirements of subsection (c)).

`(e) PROHIBITING REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION- A State shall not refuse to accept or process, with respect to any general, special, primary, or runoff election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration application or absentee ballot application from an absent uniformed services voter, on the ground that the voter submitted the application before the first date on which the State otherwise accepts or processes such applications from absentee voters.'.

(b) USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR ALL FEDERAL ELECTIONS- Section 102(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(a)), as designated by section 4(a), is amended--

(1) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (2);

(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

`(3) accept and process, with respect to all general, special, primary, and runoff elections for Federal office occurring during a year, any otherwise valid absentee ballot application from an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter, if a single application for any such election is received by the appropriate State election official not less than 30 days before the first election for Federal office occurring during the year; and'.

SEC. 6. GRANTING PROTECTIONS GIVEN TO ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS TO RECENTLY SEPARATED UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS.

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 104 the following:

`SEC. 104A. COVERAGE OF RECENTLY SEPARATED UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS.

`(a) IN GENERAL- For purposes of this Act, an individual who is a separated uniformed services voter (or the spouse or dependent of such an individual) shall be treated in the same manner as an absent uniformed services voter with respect to any election occurring during the 60-day period which begins on the date the individual becomes a separated uniformed services voter.

`(b) SEPARATED UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTER DEFINED-

`(1) IN GENERAL- In this section, the term `separated uniformed services voter' means an individual who--

`(A) is separated from the uniformed services;

`(B) was a uniformed services voter immediately prior to separation;

`(C) presents to an appropriate election official Department of Defense form 214, or any other official proof, showing that the individual meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B); and

`(D) is otherwise qualified to vote with respect to the election involved.

`(2) UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTER- In paragraph (1), the term `uniformed services voter' means--

`(A) a member of a uniformed service on active duty; or

`(B) a member of the merchant marine.'.

SEC. 7. ELECTRONIC VOTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a demonstration project under which absent uniformed services voters (as defined in section 107(1) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6(1)) are permitted to cast ballots in the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office for November 2002 through an electronic voting system.

(b) COORDINATION WITH STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS- To the greatest extent practicable, the Secretary of Defense shall carry out the demonstration project under this section through cooperative agreements with State election officials.

(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS- Not later than June 1, 2003, the Secretary of Defense shall submit a report to Congress analyzing the demonstration project conducted under this section, and shall include in the report any recommendations the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate for continuing the project on an expanded basis during the next regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to elections occurring after the date of enactment of this Act.

END