Whereas because members of the uniformed services and
their families are not similarly situated with respect to their ability to
vote, our Nation has a long history of acknowledging their sacrifices and
awarding them extra opportunity to participate in the democratic
process;
Whereas, during the Civil War, President Lincoln declared
a cessation of military operations in order for military personnel to return
home for the purpose of casting their ballots;
Whereas in order to ensure that military personnel serving
during the Civil War had access to the ability to vote, election officials were
authorized by many States to travel to units in the field for the purpose of
establishing polling locations and collecting ballots;
Whereas the Soldier Voting Act of 1942 was enacted to
guarantee Federal voting rights for members of the Armed Forces during
wartime;
Whereas the Federal Voting Assistance Act was enacted in
1955, as a result of a study by the American Political Science Association on
the problem of military voting;
Whereas the Federal Voting Assistance Act recommended
absentee registration and voting for members of the military, Federal employees
who lived outside the United States, and members of civilian service
organizations affiliated with the Armed Forces;
Whereas the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act of 1975
guaranteed absentee registration and voting rights for citizens outside of the
United States, whether or not they maintained a United States residence or
address and their intention to return was uncertain;
Whereas, on August 28, 1986, President Reagan signed into
law the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA);
Whereas provisions concerning uniformed services and
overseas voting were included in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2002 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to amend the
UOCAVA;
Whereas the Ronald W. Reagan Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108–375) amended UOCAVA to ease the rules for use
of the Federal write-in ballot in place of state absentee ballots;
Whereas the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109–364) extended a Department of Defense
program to assist UOCAVA voters;
Whereas the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act
(MOVE Act) acknowledges that many military members and their families are faced
with unique challenges and should be granted particular consideration in the
manner in which they can request, receive, cast and return absentee
ballots;
Whereas in McDonald v. Board of Election Commissioners of
Chicago, the Supreme Court ruled concerning a challenge to the Illinois
absentee ballot statue, which provided absentee ballots for 4 classes of
voters;
Whereas in McDonald, the Supreme Court noted that “the
absentee statues, which are designed to make voting more available to some
groups who cannot easily get to the polls, do not themselves deny appellants
the exercise of the franchise”;
Whereas the Court stated in Bush v. Hissborough County
Canvassing Bd. that UOCAVA voters “do not enjoy the individualism which they
serve to defend for all other citizens. How and where they conduct their lives
is dictated by the government. The vote is their last vestige of expression and
should be provided no matter what their location.”; and
Whereas the Supreme Court has upheld the right of the
States to extend particular consideration to members of the uniformed services
and overseas citizens: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)affirms that it is the policy of the United
States to provide for the ability of members of the uniformed services to
exercise their constitutional right to vote and acknowledges that particular
consideration be given them due to restrictions, uncertainties, and risks, such
as deployment, that present a challenge in voting;
(2)recognizes the
legislative and judicial precedent of granting particular consideration to
members of the uniformed services and overseas citizens regarding absentee
voting; and
(3)affirms that while
the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment “protects against
arbitrary classifications, and requires that similarly situated persons be
treated equally”, members of the uniformed services and overseas citizens are
not similarly situated, and that the restrictions, uncertainties, and risks
that members of the uniformed services face warrant consideration that is not
arbitrary.