[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 388 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 388

Expressing the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense and the 
 Federal Voting Assistance Program should take certain additional and 
 timely measures to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their 
dependents are provided with reasonable information on how to register 
            to vote and vote in the 2008 general elections.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 8, 2008

Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. 
 Cole of Oklahoma, Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Mr. McCarthy of 
     California, and Mr. Heller of Nevada) submitted the following 
  concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense and the 
 Federal Voting Assistance Program should take certain additional and 
 timely measures to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their 
dependents are provided with reasonable information on how to register 
            to vote and vote in the 2008 general elections.

Whereas members of the Armed Forces and their dependents deserve every 
        reasonable opportunity to participate in the electoral process given 
        their daily sacrifices to protect our liberty and freedom;
Whereas Congress enacted the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
        in part to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their dependents 
        are provided with sufficient information, opportunities, and balloting 
        materials to foster their participation in Federal elections;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission found that less than 17 percent of 
        the 6 million citizens eligible under the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act chose to participate in the 2006 general 
        election;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that of the 48,600 
        Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ballots that were 
        not counted by States and local jurisdictions in the November 2006 
        elections, 70 percent were not counted due to incorrect or undeliverable 
        addresses;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that more than 10 
        percent of all uncounted military and overseas absentee ballots were 
        rejected because they were received past the required deadline;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that more effort needs 
        to be made by the States and the Department of Defense to ensure that 
        members of the Armed Forces and their dependents and citizens living 
        overseas are made fully aware of their voting rights;
Whereas the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the 
        Federal Voting Assistance Program are required to create and utilize a 
        Federal Post Card Application that allows members of the Armed Forces 
        and their dependents to use a single application to register to vote and 
        request an absentee ballot;
Whereas a survey conducted recently by the Inspector General for the Department 
        of Defense analyzed the effectiveness of the Federal Voting Assistance 
        Program during the 2006 general election, and found that only 40 percent 
        of members of the Armed Forces received voting information from the 
        military and only 33 percent were aware of the Federal Post Card 
        Application;
Whereas in April 2008 the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
        Readiness testified before the Committee on House Administration that 
        the Department of Defense had not provided all members of the Armed 
        Forces and their dependents with post card applications by the January 
        15, 2008, deadline, as required by Department policy, and that the 
        Department has yet to comply with this requirement; and
Whereas many of Department of Defense's outreach efforts, including its Armed 
        Forces Voter Week, are scheduled to occur 60 days before the November 
        2008 election, which may not provide members of the Armed Forces and 
        their dependents with sufficient time to complete and return the Federal 
        Post Card Applications: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) it is in the interests of the United States to ensure 
        that the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Voting Assistance 
        Program provide members of the Armed Forces and their 
        dependents who are eligible under the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act with sufficient information 
        regarding opportunities to register to vote and to request an 
        absentee ballot for elections occurring in 2008, including the 
        November 2008 general election;
            (2) the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Voting 
        Assistance Program must, on a monthly basis starting July 15, 
        2008, through the November 2008 general election, provide all 
        eligible members of the Armed Forces and their dependents with 
        an electronic reminder of the voter registration and absentee 
        ballot process available under the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and, as required by Department 
        policy, provide all members of the Armed Forces and their 
        dependents with an electronic or paper copy of the Federal Post 
        Card Application, along with sufficient instruction on 
        completing and returning the application to the appropriate 
        election official;
            (3) State and local election officials should work with the 
        Federal Voting Assistance Program to develop methods, 
        consistent with privacy and security, for obtaining updated 
        addresses and contact information, if possible, for any member 
        of the Armed Forces or dependent who has been identified by the 
        State or local election official as having an undeliverable 
        ballot address;
            (4) the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
        Readiness should report to the Committee on House 
        Administration of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
        on Rules and Administration of the Senate, and the Committees 
        on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and Senate 
        not later than September 15, 2008, on the efforts made by the 
        Department of Defense to--
                    (A) educate members of the Armed Forces on the 
                process of voter registration and absentee voting in 
                the 2008 general election,
                    (B) provide all eligible members of the Armed 
                Forces and their dependents with the Federal Post Card 
                Application to register to vote and cast absentee 
                ballots in such election, and
                    (C) cooperate effectively with State and local 
                election officials in their efforts to register these 
                individuals and distribute and collect their absentee 
                ballots;
            (5) States must redouble their efforts to make sure that 
        local jurisdictions collect the mandated information for 
        individuals who are eligible under the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and should work in partnership 
        with the Federal Government to develop best practices 
        (including the use of electronic means) for encouraging voting 
        participation among members of the Armed Forces and their 
        dependents and citizens living overseas; and
            (6) the Department of Defense, the Federal Voting 
        Assistance Program, the Election Assistance Commission, and 
        State governments should examine recommendations made by the 
        Election Assistance Commission in its September 2007 survey 
        findings regarding the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 
        Voting Act.
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