[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO HELP ELIMINATE UNCERTAINTY FOR MILITARY 
                          AND OVERSEAS VOTERS

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce legislation, with my 
colleagues Representatives Charles Gonzalez and Michael Honda, which 
would help eliminate uncertainty for military and overseas voters when 
they request an absentee ballot this year that they will get ballots 
for each of the elections for the full year when voting absentee.
  The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009 
repealed several subsections of Section 104 of the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which has caused 
concern among overseas voting groups that this change may result in a 
situation in which a military or overseas voter might vote in a primary 
election but not receive ballots for the general election. This 
legislation would amend UOCAVA to make clarifications to the law and 
ensure that voters who request an absentee ballot will receive ballots 
for each election that occurs during the full election cycle.
  The MOVE Act was a major step forward in the reform and modernization 
of UOCAVA; however, this particular change may have unintended 
consequences. As we are in the 2012 election cycle, we need to ensure 
that this does not inadvertently disenfranchise large swaths of our 
military and overseas voters. This bill proposes simple fixes that will 
help ensure the votes of every overseas American are counted.

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