[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6273. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 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 appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. TWO-WAY MILITARY BALLOT BARCODE TRACKING.

       (a) In General.--The Presidential Designee under section 
     101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
     Act shall conduct a pilot program to provide full ballot 
     tracking of overseas military absentee ballots through the 
     mail stream for elections for Federal office occurring during 
     calendar year 2024.
       (b) Pilot Program Requirements.--The pilot program 
     described under subsection (a) shall--
       (1) be similar to the 2016 Military Ballot Tracking Pilot 
     Program conducted by the Federal Voting Assistance Program of 
     the Department of Defense;
       (2) evaluate commercially available barcodes and envelopes;
       (3) prioritize ballots cast in political subdivisions in 
     which the State or local election official responsible for 
     the receipt of voted absentee ballots in the election carries 
     out procedures to track and confirm the receipt of such 
     ballots and makes information on the receipt of such ballots 
     available to the individual who cast the ballot;
       (4) evaluate alternatives to ballots being mailed through 
     countries that may not conduct scanning;
       (5) be available to not less than 50,000 ballots of members 
     of the Armed Forces; and
       (6) include special, primary, and run off elections.
       (c) Authorization of Funds.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the 
     Department of Defense (or a successor program) such sums as 
     are necessary for the purpose of carrying out the program 
     described in subsection (a).
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