[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4393. Ms. CANTWELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1064. PROVIDING END-TO-END ELECTRONIC VOTING SERVICES
FOR ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS IN
LOCATIONS WITH LIMITED OR IMMATURE POSTAL
SERVICE.
(a) Plan.--
(1) Development.--In consultation with the Chief
Information Officer of the Department of Defense, the
Presidential designee under the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.) shall
develop a plan for providing end-to-end electronic voting
services (including services for registering to vote,
requesting an electronic ballot, completing the ballot, and
returning the ballot) in participating States for absent
uniformed services voters under such Act who are deployed or
mobilized to locations with limited or immature postal
service (as determined by the Presidential designee).
(2) Specifications.--The Presidential designee shall
include in the plan developed under paragraph (1)--
(A) methods to ensure that voters have the opportunity to
verify that their ballots are received and tabulated
correctly by the appropriate State and local election
officials;
(B) methods to generate a verifiable and auditable vote
trail for the purposes of any recount or audit conducted with
respect to an election; and
(C) an assessment of whether commercially available
technologies may be used to carry out any of the elements of
the plan.
(3) Consultation with state and local election officials.--
The Presidential designee shall develop the plan under
paragraph (1) in consultation with appropriate State and
local election officials to ensure that the plan may be
implemented successfully in any State which agrees to
participate in the plan.
(4) Use of contractors.--To the extent the Presidential
designee determines to be appropriate, the Presidential
designee may include in the plan developed under paragraph
(1) provisions for the use of contractors to carry out any of
the elements of the plan.
(5) Submission.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Presidential designee shall
submit the plan developed under paragraph (1) to the
Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives
and Senate.
(b) Implementation.--If the Presidential designee
determines it feasible, the Presidential designee shall
implement the plan developed under subsection (a)--
(1) for a trial group of voters in participating States for
elections for Federal office held in 2024; and
(2) for all such voters in participating States for
elections for Federal office held in 2026 and any succeeding
year.
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