[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 154 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 154

  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
    ensure uniform treatment by States of Federal overseas absentee 
ballots, to amend titles 10 and 18, United States Code, and the Revised 
   Statutes to remove the uncertainty regarding the authority of the 
     Department of Defense to permit buildings located on military 
 installations and reserve component facilities to be used as polling 
 places in Federal, State, and local elections for public office, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 23, 2001

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
    ensure uniform treatment by States of Federal overseas absentee 
ballots, to amend titles 10 and 18, United States Code, and the Revised 
   Statutes to remove the uncertainty regarding the authority of the 
     Department of Defense to permit buildings located on military 
 installations and reserve component facilities to be used as polling 
 places in Federal, State, and local elections for public office, 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. UNIFORM TREATMENT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS OF UNIFORMED AND 
              OVERSEAS VOTERS.

    (a) Postmark Requirements; Date to Accept Absentee Ballots.--
Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Each'' and inserting ``(a) In General.--
        Each'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting 
        a semicolon; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) regardless of whether such ballot contains a 
        postmark, accept and count any otherwise valid absentee ballot 
        from an overseas voter, with respect to any general, special, 
        primary, or runoff election for Federal office, if there is 
        conclusive evidence that such ballot was mailed or otherwise 
        delivered to the appropriate State election official on or 
        before the election date to which the ballot refers; and
            ``(5) accept and count any valid absentee ballot from an 
        overseas voter, with respect to any general, special, primary, 
        or runoff election for Federal office, that is received by the 
        appropriate State election official not more than 10 days after 
        the date of the election to which the ballot refers.
    ``(b) Conclusive Evidence of Mailing.--For purposes of subsection 
(a)(4), conclusive evidence that an absentee ballot was mailed or 
otherwise delivered on or before an election date exists if the 
ballot--
            ``(1) has an appropriate postmark;
            ``(2) is received by the appropriate State election 
        official on or before the date of the election;
            ``(3) bears an attestation on the outside that such ballot 
        was mailed on or before such date; or
            ``(4) meets such other requirements as the Presidential 
        designee may by regulation prescribe.''.
    (b) Enforcement.--Section 608 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Whoever knowingly gives false information for the purpose of 
establishing the date an absentee ballot of an overseas voter under the 
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act is mailed or 
delivered shall be fined in accordance with this title or imprisoned 
not more than five years, or both.''.

SEC. 2. USE OF BUILDINGS ON MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND RESERVE 
              COMPONENT FACILITIES AS POLLING PLACES.

    (a) Use of Military Installations Authorized.--Section 2670 of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Under'' and inserting ``(a) Use by Red 
        Cross.--Under'';
            (2) by striking ``this section'' and inserting ``this 
        subsection''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Use as Polling Places.--(1) Notwithstanding chapter 29 of 
title 18 (including sections 592 and 593 of such title), the Secretary 
of a military department may make a building located on a military 
installation under the jurisdiction of the Secretary available for use 
as a polling place in any Federal, State, or local election for public 
office.
    ``(2) Once a military installation is made available as the site of 
a polling place with respect to a Federal, State, or local election for 
public office, the Secretary shall continue to make the site available 
for subsequent elections for public office unless the Secretary 
provides to Congress advance notice in a reasonable and timely manner 
of the reasons why the site will no longer be made available as a 
polling place.
    ``(3) In this section, the term `military installation' has the 
meaning given the term in section 2687(e).''.
    (b) Use of Reserve Component Facilities.--
            (1) In general.--Section 18235 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Pursuant to a lease or other agreement under subsection 
(a)(2), the Secretary may make a facility covered by subsection (a) 
available for use as a polling place in any Federal, State, or local 
election for public office notwithstanding chapter 29 of title 18 
(including sections 592 and 593 of such title). Once a facility is made 
available as the site of a polling place with respect to an election 
for public office, the Secretary shall continue to make the facility 
available for subsequent elections for public office unless the 
Secretary provides to Congress advance notice in a reasonable and 
timely manner of the reasons why the facility will no longer be made 
available as a polling place.''.
            (2) State facilities.--Section 18236 of such title is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Pursuant to a lease or other agreement under subsection 
(c)(1), a State may make a facility covered by subsection (c) available 
for use as a polling place in any Federal, State, or local election for 
public office notwithstanding chapter 29 of title 18 (including 
sections 592 and 593 of such title).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments to Title 18.--
            (1) Prohibition of troops at polls.--Section 592 of title 
        18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``This section shall not prohibit the use of buildings located on 
military installations, or the use of reserve component facilities, as 
polling places in Federal, State, and local elections for public office 
in accordance with section 2670(b), 18235, or 18236 of title 10.''.
            (2) Prohibition of interference by armed forces.--Section 
        593 of such title is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``This section shall not prohibit the use of buildings located on 
military installations, or the use of reserve component facilities, as 
polling places in Federal, State, and local elections for public office 
in accordance with section 2670(b), 18235, or 18236 of title 10.''.
    (d) Conforming Amendment to Voting Rights Law.--Section 2003 of the 
Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1972) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``Making a military installation or reserve component 
facility available as a polling place in a Federal, State, or local 
election for public office in accordance with section 2670(b), 18235, 
or 18236 of title 10, United States Code, shall be deemed to be 
consistent with this section.''.
    (e) Availability of Polling Places for 2002 Federal Elections.--If 
a military installation or reserve component facility was made 
available as the site of a polling place with respect to an election 
for Federal office held during 2000, the same or a comparable site 
shall be made available for use as a polling place with respect to any 
applicable general election for Federal office to be held in November 
2002.
    (f) Clerical Amendments.--(1) The heading of section 2670 of title 
10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 2670. Buildings on military installations: use by American 
              National Red Cross and as polling places in Federal, 
              State, and local elections''.
    (2) The item relating to such section in the table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 159 of such title is amended to read as 
follows:

``2670. Buildings on military installations: use by American National 
                            Red Cross and as polling places in Federal, 
                            State, and local elections.''.
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