[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1728 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1728

  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
improve ballot accessibility to uniformed services voters and overseas 
                    voters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 19, 2013

   Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Warner, Mr. 
 Wicker, and Mr. Brown) 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 
improve ballot accessibility to uniformed services voters and overseas 
                    voters, 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 ``Safeguarding Elections for our 
Nation's Troops through Reforms and Improvements (SENTRI) Act''.

  TITLE I--AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS 
                          ABSENTEE VOTING ACT

SEC. 101. PRE-ELECTION REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON TRANSMISSION OF 
              ABSENTEE BALLOTS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (c) of section 102 of the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(c)) is 
amended by striking ``Not later than 90 days'' and inserting the 
following:
            ``(1) Pre-election report on absentee ballots 
        transmitted.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 43 days before 
                any election for Federal office held in a State, the 
                chief State election official of such State shall 
                submit a report to the Attorney General and the 
                Presidential designee, and make that report publicly 
                available that same day, confirming--
                            ``(i) the number of absentee ballots 
                        validly requested by absent uniformed services 
                        voters and overseas voters whose requests were 
                        received by the 46th day before the election, 
                        and
                            ``(ii) whether those ballots were timely 
                        transmitted.
                    ``(B) Matters to be included.--The report under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include the following 
                information:
                            ``(i) Specific information about ballot 
                        transmission, including the total numbers of 
                        ballot requests received from such voters and 
                        ballots transmitted to such voters by the 46th 
                        day before the election from each unit of local 
                        government that will administer the election.
                            ``(ii) If the chief State election official 
                        has incomplete information on any items 
                        required to be included in the report, an 
                        explanation of what information is incomplete 
                        information and efforts made to acquire such 
                        information.
                    ``(C) Requirement to supplement incomplete 
                information.--If the report under subparagraph (A) has 
                incomplete information on any items required to be 
                included in the report, the chief State election 
                official shall make all reasonable efforts to 
                expeditiously supplement the report with complete 
                information.
                    ``(D) Format.--The report under subparagraph (A) 
                shall be in a format prescribed by the Attorney General 
                in consultation with the chief State election officials 
                of each State.
            ``(2) Post election report on number of absentee ballots 
        transmitted and received.--Not later than 90 days''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading for subsection (c) of 
section 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(c)) is amended by striking 
``Report on Number of Absentee Ballots Transmitted and Received'' and 
inserting ``Reports on Absentee Ballots''.

SEC. 102. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) of the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(a)) is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(8) transmit a validly requested absentee ballot to an 
        absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter by the date 
        and in the manner determined under subsection (g);''.
    (b) Ballot Transmission Requirements and Repeal of Waiver 
Provision.--Subsection (g) of section 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1973ff-1(g)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(g) Ballot Transmission Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(8), in 
        the case in which a valid request for an absentee ballot is 
        received at least 46 days before an election for Federal 
        office, the following rules shall apply:
                    ``(A) Transmission deadline.--The State shall 
                transmit the absentee ballot not later than 46 days 
                before the election.
                    ``(B) Special rules in case of failure to transmit 
                on time.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the State fails to 
                        transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th day 
                        before the election as required by subparagraph 
                        (A) and the absent uniformed services voter or 
                        overseas voter did not request electronic 
                        ballot transmission pursuant to subsection (f), 
                        the State shall transmit such ballot by express 
                        delivery.
                            ``(ii) Extended failure.--If the State 
                        fails to transmit any absentee ballot by the 
                        41st day before the election, in addition to 
                        transmitting the ballot as provided in clause 
                        (i), the State shall--
                                    ``(I) in the case of absentee 
                                ballots requested by absent uniformed 
                                services voters with respect to 
                                regularly scheduled general elections, 
                                notify such voters of the procedures 
                                established under section 103A for the 
                                collection and delivery of marked 
                                absentee ballots; and
                                    ``(II) in any other case, provide 
                                for the return of such ballot by 
                                express delivery.
                            ``(iii) Cost of express delivery.--In any 
                        case in which express delivery is required 
                        under this subparagraph, the cost of such 
                        express delivery--
                                    ``(I) shall not be paid by the 
                                voter, and
                                    ``(II) may be required by the State 
                                to be paid by a local jurisdiction if 
                                the State determines that election 
                                officials in such jurisdiction are 
                                responsible for the failure to transmit 
                                the ballot by any date required under 
                                this paragraph.
                            ``(iv) Enforcement.--A State's compliance 
                        with this subparagraph does not bar the 
                        Attorney General from seeking additional 
                        remedies necessary to effectuate the purposes 
                        of this Act.
            ``(2) Requests received after 46th day before election.--
        For purposes of subsection (a)(8), in the case in which a valid 
        request for an absentee ballot is received less than 46 days 
        but not less than 30 days before an election for Federal 
        office, the State shall transmit the absentee ballot not later 
        than 3 business days after such request is received.''.

SEC. 103. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS TO CONFORM TO 2009 MOVE ACT 
              AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE 
              BALLOT.

    (a) In General.--Section 102(a)(3) of the Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(a)(3)) is amended by 
striking ``general elections'' and inserting ``general, special, 
primary, and runoff elections''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 103 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1973ff-2) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ``general'', and
            (2) in the heading thereof, by striking ``general''.

SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS.

    (a) Application of Prohibition of Refusal of Applications on 
Grounds of Early Submission to Overseas Voters.--Section 104 of the 
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-
3) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or overseas voter'' after ``submitted by 
        an absent uniformed services voter''; and
            (2) by striking ``members of the uniformed services'' and 
        inserting ``absent uniformed services voters or overseas 
        voters''.
    (b) Use of Single Application for Subsequent Elections.--
            (1) In general.--Section 104 of the Uniformed and Overseas 
        Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-3) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``A State'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(a) Prohibition of Refusal of Applications on Grounds of Early 
Submission.--A State'', and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsections:
    ``(b) Application Treated as Valid for Subsequent Elections.--
            ``(1) In general.--If a State accepts and processes a 
        request for an absentee ballot by an absent uniformed services 
        voter or overseas voter and the voter requests that the 
        application be considered an application for an absentee ballot 
        for each subsequent election for Federal office held in the 
        State through the next regularly scheduled general election for 
        Federal office (including any runoff elections which may occur 
        as a result of the outcome of such general election) and any 
        special elections for Federal office held in the State through 
        the calendar year following such general election, the State 
        shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter for each such 
        subsequent election.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
        respect to either of the following:
                    ``(A) Voters changing registration.--A voter 
                removed from the list of official eligible voters in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
                section 8(a)(3) of the National Voter Registration Act 
                of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6(a)).
                    ``(B) Undeliverable ballots.--A voter whose ballot 
                is returned by mail to the State or local election 
                officials as undeliverable or, in the case of a ballot 
                delivered electronically, if the email sent to the 
                voter was undeliverable or rejected due to an invalid 
                email address.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The heading of section 104 of 
        such Act is amended by striking ``prohibition of refusal of 
        applications on grounds of early submission'' and inserting 
        ``treatment of ballot requests''.
            (3) Revision to postcard form.--
                    (A) In general.--The Presidential designee shall 
                ensure that the official postcard form prescribed under 
                section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas 
                Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(2)) 
                enables a voter using the form to--
                            (i) request an absentee ballot for each 
                        election for Federal office held in a State 
                        through the next regularly scheduled general 
                        election for Federal office (including any 
                        runoff elections which may occur as a result of 
                        the outcome of such general election) and any 
                        special elections for Federal office held in 
                        the State through the calendar year following 
                        such general election; or
                            (ii) request an absentee ballot for a 
                        specific election or elections for Federal 
                        office held in a State during the period 
                        described in paragraph (1).
                    (B) Presidential designee.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph, the term ``Presidential designee'' means the 
                individual designated under section 101(a) of the 
                Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1973ff(a)).

SEC. 105. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA 
              ISLANDS.

    Paragraphs (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6(6)) are each amended 
by striking ``and American Samoa'' and inserting ``American Samoa, and 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands''.

SEC. 106. BIENNIAL REPORT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACTIVITIES OF THE 
              FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND COMPTROLLER GENERAL 
              REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--Section 105A(b) of the Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4a(b)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``March 31 of each year'' and 
                inserting ``June 30 of each odd-numbered year''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the following information'' and 
                inserting ``the following information with respect to 
                the Federal elections held during the 2 preceding 
                calendar years'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``separate assessment'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``separate assessment and 
        statistical analysis''; and
            (3) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``section 1566a'' in the matter 
                preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting ``sections 
                1566a and 1566b'';
                    (B) by striking ``such section'' each place it 
                appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting 
                ``such sections''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraphs:
                    ``(C) The number of completed official postcard 
                forms prescribed under section 101(b)(2) that were 
                completed by absent uniformed services members and 
                accepted and transmitted.
                    ``(D) The number of absent uniformed services 
                members who declined to register to vote under such 
                sections.''.
    (b) Comptroller General Reviews.--Section 105A of the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4a) is amended 
by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and by inserting 
after subsection (b) the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Comptroller General Reviews.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Review.--The Comptroller General shall 
                conduct a review of any reports submitted by the 
                Presidential designee under subsection (b) with respect 
                to elections occurring in calendar years 2014 through 
                2020.
                    ``(B) Report.--Not later than 180 days after a 
                report is submitted by the Presidential designee under 
                subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall submit to 
                the relevant committees of Congress a report containing 
                the results of the review conducted under subparagraph 
                (A).
            ``(2) Matters reviewed.--A review conducted under paragraph 
        (1) shall assess--
                    ``(A) the methodology used by the Presidential 
                designee to prepare the report and to develop the data 
                presented in the report, including the approach for 
                designing, implementing, and analyzing the results of 
                any surveys,
                    ``(B) the effectiveness of any voting assistance 
                covered in the report provided under subsection (b) and 
                provided by the Presidential designee to absent 
                overseas uniformed services voters and overseas voters 
                who are not members of the uniformed services, 
                including an assessment of--
                            ``(i) any steps taken toward improving the 
                        implementation of such voting assistance; and
                            ``(ii) the extent of collaboration between 
                        the Presidential designee and the States in 
                        providing such voting assistance; and
                    ``(C) any other information the Comptroller General 
                considers relevant to the review.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 101(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (6); and
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (11) as 
                paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively.
            (2) Section 102(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(a)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``101(b)(7)'' and 
                inserting ``101(b)(6)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (11), by striking ``101(b)(11)'' 
                and inserting ``101(b)(10)''.
            (3) Section 105A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4a(b)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``Annual Report'' in the subsection 
                heading and inserting ``Biennial Report''; and
                    (B) by striking ``In the case of'' in paragraph (3) 
                and all that follows through ``a description'' and 
                inserting ``A description''.

SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this title shall apply with respect to the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in 
November 2014 and each succeeding election for Federal office.

 TITLE II--PROVISION OF VOTER ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES

SEC. 201. PROVISION OF ANNUAL VOTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Annual Voter Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 80 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 1566a the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 1566b. Annual voter assistance
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall carry out the 
following activities:
            ``(1) In coordination with the Secretary of each military 
        department--
                    ``(A) affirmatively offer, on an annual basis, each 
                member of the armed forces on active duty (other than 
                active duty for training) the opportunity, through the 
                online system developed under paragraph (2), to--
                            ``(i) register to vote in an election for 
                        Federal office;
                            ``(ii) update the member's voter 
                        registration information; or
                            ``(iii) request an absentee ballot;
                    ``(B) provide services to such members for the 
                purpose of carrying out the activities in clauses (i), 
                (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) require any such member who declines the 
                offer for voter assistance under subparagraph (A) to 
                indicate and record that decision.
            ``(2) Implement an online system that, to the extent 
        practicable, is integrated with the existing systems of each of 
        the military departments and that--
                    ``(A) provides an electronic means for carrying out 
                the requirements of paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) in the case of an individual registering to 
                vote in a State that accepts electronic voter 
                registration and operates its own electronic voter 
                registration system using a form that meets the 
                requirements for mail voter registration forms under 
                section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
                1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-7(b)), directs such individual 
                to that system; and
                    ``(C) in the case of an individual using the 
                official postcard form prescribed under section 
                101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
                Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(2)) to 
                register to vote and request an absentee ballot--
                            ``(i) pre-populates such official postcard 
                        form with the personal information of such 
                        individual, and
                            ``(ii)(I) produces the pre-populated form 
                        and a pre-addressed envelope for use in 
                        transmitting such official postcard form; or
                            ``(II) transmits the completed official 
                        postcard form electronically to the appropriate 
                        State or local election officials.
            ``(3) Implement a system (either independently or in 
        conjunction with the online system under paragraph (2)) by 
        which any change of address by a member of the armed forces on 
        active duty who is undergoing a permanent change of station, 
        deploying overseas for at least six months, or returning from 
        an overseas deployment of at least six months automatically 
        triggers, through the Defense Enrollment and Eligibility 
        Registration System or related systems, a notification via 
        electronic means to such member that--
                    ``(A) indicates that such member's voter 
                registration or absentee mailing address should be 
                updated with the appropriate State or local election 
                officials; and
                    ``(B) includes instructions on how to update such 
                voter registration using the online system developed 
                under paragraph (2).
    ``(b) Data Collection.--The online system developed under 
subsection (a)(2) shall collect and store all data required to meet the 
reporting requirements of section 201(b) of the Safeguarding Elections 
for our Nation's Troops through Reforms and Improvements (SENTRI) Act 
and section 105A(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 
Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4a(b)(2)) in a manner that complies with 
section 552a of title 5, United States Code, (commonly known as the 
Privacy Act of 1974) and imposes no new record management burden on any 
military unit or military installation.
    ``(c) Timing of Voter Assistance.--To the extent practicable, the 
voter assistance under subsection (a)(1) shall be offered as a part of 
each servicemember's annual training.
    ``(d) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe 
regulations implementing the requirements of subsection (a). Such 
regulations shall include procedures to inform those members of the 
armed forces on active duty (other than active duty for training) 
experiencing a change of address about the benefits of this section and 
the timeframe for requesting an absentee ballot to ensure sufficient 
time for State delivery of the ballot.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 80 of such title is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 1566a the following new 
        item:

``1566b. Annual voter assistance.''.
    (b) Report on Status of Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
        submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report on the 
        status of the implementation of the requirements of section 
        1566b of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection 
        (a)(1).
            (2) Elements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) a detailed description of any specific steps 
                already taken towards the implementation of the 
                requirements of such section 1566b;
                    (B) a detailed plan for the implementation of such 
                requirements, including milestones and deadlines for 
                the completion of such implementation;
                    (C) the costs expected to be incurred in the 
                implementation of such requirements;
                    (D) a description of how the annual voting 
                assistance and system under subsection (a)(3) of such 
                section will be integrated with the Defense Enrollment 
                and Eligibility Registration System or other Department 
                of Defense personnel databases that track military 
                servicemembers' address changes;
                    (E) an estimate of how long it will take an average 
                member to complete the voter assistance process 
                required under subsection (a)(1) of such section;
                    (F) an explanation of how the Secretary of Defense 
                will collect reliable data on the utilization of the 
                online system under subsection (a)(2) of such section; 
                and
                    (G) a summary of any objections, concerns, or 
                comments made by State or local election officials 
                regarding the implementation of such section.
            (3) Relevant committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``relevant committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committees on Appropriations, Armed 
                Services, and Rules and Administration of the Senate; 
                and
                    (B) the Committees on Appropriations, Armed 
                Services, and House Administration of the House of 
                Representatives.

                  TITLE III--ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS

SEC. 301. REPEAL OF ELECTRONIC VOTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    Section 1604 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff note) is repealed.

             TITLE IV--RESIDENCY OF MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS

SEC. 401. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR VOTING PURPOSES TO 
              FAMILY MEMBERS OF ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (b) of section 705 of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``a person who is absent from a State 
        because the person is accompanying the persons's spouse who is 
        absent from that same State in compliance with military or 
        naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that absence'' and 
        inserting ``a dependent of a person who is absent from a State 
        in compliance with military orders shall not, solely by reason 
        of absence, whether or not accompanying that person''; and
            (2) in the heading by striking ``Spouses'' and inserting 
        ``Dependents''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading of section 705 of such Act 
(50 U.S.C. App. 595) is amended by striking ``spouses'' and inserting 
``dependents''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to absences from States described in section 705(b) 
of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595(b)), as 
amended by subsection (a), after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
regardless of the date of the military orders concerned.
                                 <all>