[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9762-9770]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTER EMPOWERMENT (MOVE) ACT OF 2009

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, since becoming chairman of the Committee 
on Rules and Administration with jurisdiction over Federal elections, I 
have come to have a better appreciation for and deeper understanding of 
the obstacles and barriers that our military men and women serving 
abroad and at home and U.S. citizens living in foreign lands encounter 
when they try to vote.
  As I explained at a Rules Committee hearing held in May of 2009, 
every couple of years around election time, there is a great push to 
improve military and overseas voting. But as soon as the election is 
over, Congress all too often forgets the plight of these voters.
  But last year, Congress delivered. Our motive was simple--we wanted 
to break down the barriers to voting for our soldiers, sailors, and 
citizens living overseas. On a bipartisan basis, we agreed that it was 
unacceptable that in the age of global communications, many active 
military, their families, and thousands of other Americans living, 
working, and volunteering in foreign countries cannot cast a ballot at 
home while they are serving or living overseas. For our military, what 
especially moved us to act was the fact that they can fight and put 
their life on the line for their country, but they can't choose their 
next commander-in-chief. This shouldn't happen--not in the United 
States of America where elections are the bedrock of our democracy.
  With the 2010 elections less than 7 months away, a new law is on the 
books. The provisions of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment 
Act, MOVE Act, of 2009 were incorporated in Public Law 111-84, the 
National Defense Authorization Act of 2010. This law will make it 
easier for members of our Armed Forces and citizens living abroad to 
receive accurate, timely election information and the resources and 
logistical support to register and vote and have that vote count.
  Mr. President, a legislative history of the MOVE Act is as follows:

                 Background and Purpose of the MOVE Act

       American citizens believe voting is one of the most 
     treasured of our liberties and a right to be defended at any 
     cost. It is therefore unacceptable that our military men and 
     women serving abroad and at home, who put their lives on the 
     line every day to defend this right, often face obstacles in 
     exercising their right to vote.
       Empirical evidence confirms that members of the military 
     and citizens living overseas who have attempted to vote 
     through the absentee balloting procedures that has been in 
     place for the last 30 years were often unable to do so. The 
     reasons were many, including insufficient information about 
     military and overseas voting procedures, failure by States to 
     send absentee ballots in time for military and overseas 
     voters to cast them, and endemic bureaucratic obstacles that 
     prevent these voters from having their votes counted. While 
     the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 
     UOCAVA, enacted in 1986, created a Federal framework for both 
     military and overseas citizens to vote it was clear that, in 
     order to break down these barriers to voting, UOCAVA was in 
     need of an overhaul.
       A history of congressional efforts to aid military and 
     overseas voters highlights the obstacles faced by these 
     voters. In 1942, the first Federal law was enacted to help 
     military members vote in Federal elections. The Soldier 
     Voting Act of 1942 was the first law to guarantee Federal 
     voting rights for servicemembers during wartime. It allowed 
     servicemembers to vote in elections for Federal office 
     without having to register and instituted the first iteration 
     of the Federal Post Card Application for servicemembers to 
     request an absentee ballot. Though this was a commendable 
     first effort by Congress, the 1942 law's provisions only 
     applied during a time of war, and barriers to voting 
     remained. In 1951, President Truman commissioned a study from 
     the American Political Science Association on the problem of 
     military voting. Recognizing the difficulties faced by 
     military members serving overseas during World War II and the 
     Korean War in trying to vote, President Truman wrote a letter 
     to Congress that called on our legislators to fix the 
     problem. In response, Congress passed the Federal Voting 
     Assistance Act, FVAA, in 1955 which recommended--but did not 
     guarantee--absentee registration and voting for military 
     members, Federal employees serving abroad, and members of 
     service organizations affiliated with the military. In 1968, 
     FVAA was amended to cover U.S. citizens temporarily living 
     outside of the United States, thus increasing the number and 
     scope of U.S. citizens that fell within the law's purview. In 
     1975, the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act at last 
     guaranteed military and overseas voters the right to register 
     and vote by absentee procedures. In 1986, Congress enacted 
     UOCAVA as the primary military and overseas voting law, 
     incorporating the expansion of rights granted under prior 
     Federal legislation and making several significant advances 
     to improve military and overseas voting. UOCAVA has been the 
     operational voting framework provided to military and 
     overseas voters.
       UOCAVA's main provisions placed several mandates on States. 
     First, States must allow members of the uniformed services, 
     their families, and citizens residing overseas to register 
     and vote by absentee procedures for all elections for Federal 
     office including all general, primary, special and runoff 
     elections. Second, States are required under UOCAVA to accept 
     and process all valid voter registration applications 
     submitted by military and overseas voters--as long as the 
     application is received no less than 30 days prior to an 
     election. Third, UOCAVA created the Federal write-in absentee 
     ballot, FWAB, a failsafe backup ballot for Federal general 
     elections.
       Congress has amended UOCAVA several times over the last 24 
     years. The 1998 amendments included certain reporting 
     requirements on States to provide information on military and 
     overseas voting participation; and the 2001 amendments 
     required States to accept the Federal Post Card Application, 
     FPCA, as a combined voter registration and absentee ballot 
     request form, and gave voters the opportunity to request that 
     the FPCA be a standing absentee ballot request for each 
     subsequent Federal election in the voter's State that year. 
     In 2002, the Help America Vote Act, HAVA, modified this 
     provision to allow voters to automatically request an 
     absentee ballot through the FPCA for the two subsequent 
     regularly scheduled Federal election cycles after the 
     election for which the FPCA was originally submitted. HAVA 
     also added a number of substantive provisions to UOCAVA, 
     including a provision to give voting assistance officers the 
     time and resources to provide voting guidance and information 
     to active duty military personnel, a mandate that the 
     Secretary of each branch of the Armed Forces provide 
     information to service personnel regarding the last date that 
     an absentee ballot can reasonably be expected to arrive on 
     time, and a requirement that States identify a single office 
     for communication with UOCAVA voters. Finally, Congress 
     amended UOCAVA in 2004 to allow military personnel to use the 
     Federal write-in absentee ballot, or FWAB, from within the 
     territorial United States.
       Despite these improvements over the years, evidence 
     revealed that significant barriers to voting continued for 
     military and overseas citizens. Registration among military 
     voters has been shown to be substantially lower than among 
     other voting-eligible U.S. citizens. According to testimony

[[Page 9763]]

     submitted by hearing witnesses, in 2006, the registration 
     rate among military personnel was 64.86 percent compared to a 
     registration rate of 83.8 percent for the general voting age 
     population. According to one survey of military and overseas 
     voters conducted after the 2008 election, of those overseas 
     voters who wanted to vote but were unable to do so, over one-
     third--34 percent--could not vote because of problems in the 
     registration process. The same survey found that even among 
     experienced overseas voters, nearly one-quarter--23.7 
     percent--experienced problems during the registration 
     process. Military and overseas voters have had to deal with a 
     lack of information about registration procedures and a slow, 
     cumbersome registration process that often turns into the 
     first roadblock to voting.
       Military and overseas voters also have trouble even when 
     they have been able to properly register. The Congressional 
     Research Service, CRS, found that during the 2008 election 
     military personnel and overseas citizens hailing from the 
     seven States with the highest number of deployed soldiers 
     requested 441,000 absentee ballots. Of these, 98,633 were 
     never received by local election officials. Further, survey 
     data shows that two out of every five military and overseas 
     voters, 39 percent--who requested an absentee ballot in 2008 
     received it from local election officials in the second half 
     of October or later--much too late for a ballot to be voted 
     and mailed back in time to be counted on election day. 
     Sending absentee ballots too late to have the opportunity to 
     actually vote is an unacceptable situation for military and 
     overseas Americans.
       Finally, some States reject ballots from military and 
     overseas voters for reasons unrelated to voter eligibility, 
     including unnecessary notarization requirements and criteria 
     such as the paper weight of the ballot or ballot envelope. As 
     many as 13,500 ballots were rejected from military and 
     overseas voters from the seven States with the greatest 
     number of troops deployed overseas.
       These numbers are totally unacceptable. These barriers 
     effectuate rampant disenfranchisement among our military and 
     overseas voters. Congress has a compelling interest to 
     protect the voting rights of American citizens, and it is 
     especially incumbent upon Congress to act when those very 
     individuals who are sworn to defend that freedom are unable 
     to exercise their right to vote.
       The need for sweeping improvement was clear. The Military 
     and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act is a complete renovation 
     of UOCAVA that brings it into the twenty-first century and 
     streamlines the process of absentee voting for military and 
     overseas voters through a series of common sense, 
     straightforward fixes.
       First, it allows military and overseas voters to request, 
     and when so requested, requires States to send, registration 
     materials, absentee ballot request forms, and blank absentee 
     ballots electronically. It ensures that military and overseas 
     voters have at least 45 days to receive and complete their 
     absentee ballots and return them to election officials. The 
     legislation also requires that absentee ballots from overseas 
     military personnel be sent through expedited mail procedures, 
     making it faster and easier to send voted ballots back to 
     local election officials. In addition, it prevents election 
     officials from rejecting overseas absentee ballots for 
     reasons not related to voter eligibility, like paper weight 
     and notarization requirements.
       Second, the MOVE Act expands accessibility and availability 
     of voting resources for military and overseas voters. It 
     shores up the Federal Voting Assistance Program, or FVAP, an 
     organization within the Department of Defense, DOD. Under the 
     provisions of MOVE, FVAP will make a number of improvements 
     to its voter education efforts for our military and other 
     Americans living and working abroad and serve as the central 
     administrative office for carrying out the Federal 
     responsibilities under UOCAVA and MOVE. It also increases the 
     usability and accessibility of the FWAB. This failsafe ballot 
     allows military and overseas voters to vote even when they 
     face a situation where they don't receive a State-issued 
     ballot in time. In addition to all these improvements, the 
     legislation advances voter registration for our military by 
     directing each of the Secretaries of the military departments 
     to designate offices in military installations where soldiers 
     and their families can register to vote, update their 
     registration information, and request an absentee ballot.
       The MOVE Act also aims to secure future voting rights for 
     military and overseas voters. It increases accountability for 
     future elections by directing the Department of Defense to 
     regularly report to Congress on their activities for 
     implementing the programs and requirements under MOVE, 
     including information on ballot delivery success rates. It 
     also authorizes the Defense Department to create a pilot 
     program testing new technologies for the future benefit of 
     military and overseas voters.
       The enactment of the provisions of the MOVE Act brings to 
     an end a system that could ever allow a quarter of ballots 
     requested by U.S. troops to go missing. It instead aims to 
     ensure that every single military and overseas vote be 
     counted.


             Committee Hearing and Consideration at Markup

       The Committee on Rules and Administration held a hearing on 
     May 13, 2009, which I chaired entitled ``Hearing on Problems 
     for Military and Overseas Voters: Why Many Soldiers and Their 
     Families Can't Vote.'' The first panel consisted of one 
     witness, Gail McGinn, Acting Under Secretary for Personnel 
     and Readiness for the Department of Defense. Testifying on 
     the second panel were Patricia Hollarn, board member of the 
     Overseas Vote Foundation and former supervisor of elections 
     in Okaloosa County, FL; Donald Palmer, director of the 
     Division of Elections at the Florida Department of State; LTC 
     Joseph DeCaro, active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, on 
     his own behalf; Eric Eversole, former attorney at the 
     Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Voting Rights 
     Section, adviser to the McCain-Palin campaign, and former 
     member of the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps from 1999-
     2001; and Robert Carey, executive director of the National 
     Defense Committee.
       The hearing focused on the reasons why so many military and 
     overseas voters find it difficult or impossible to 
     effectively cast their ballots, with special attention paid 
     to recommendations from the witnesses who possess extensive 
     experience with the military and overseas absentee voting 
     process. The hearing opened with a discussion of the 
     preliminary results from a study of military and overseas 
     voting in 2008 conducted by the Congressional Research 
     Service. The findings showed that in several of the largest 
     military voting States, up to 27 percent of the ballots 
     requested by military and overseas voters were not counted 
     for one reason or another.
       Letters from soldiers serving abroad who wanted to cast 
     ballots in 2008 but were unable to do so were shared. One 
     letter from a soldier in Alaska concisely summarized the 
     problem underscored by the hearing: ``I hate that because of 
     my military service overseas, I was precluded from voting.''
       Gail McGinn, Acting Under Secretary for Personnel and 
     Readiness at the Department of Defense, testified in detail 
     about the logistical and administrative challenges facing 
     military and overseas voters. Ms. McGinn identified time, 
     distance, and mobility as the chief logistical barriers to 
     these voters. She said, ``Our legislative initiatives for 
     states and territories to improve ballot transit time are, 
     first, provide at least 45 days between the ballot mailing 
     date and the date that ballots are due; give state chief 
     election officials the authority to alter elections 
     procedures in emergency situations; provide a state write-in 
     absentee ballot to be sent out 90 to 180 days before all 
     elections; and expand the use of electronic transmission 
     alternatives for voting material.'' Ms. McGinn further 
     pointed out that 23 States do not provide the minimum of a 
     45-day round trip for military and overseas absentee ballots. 
     Patricia Hollarn, board member of the Overseas Vote 
     Foundation and former supervisor of elections in Okaloosa 
     County, FL, testified about her personal experience with 
     local election officials who, she said, had a lot of 
     confusion about the proper absentee balloting procedures they 
     needed to provide for overseas citizens and military 
     personnel. She echoed Ms. McGinn in recommending that States 
     and local jurisdictions provide a minimum of 45 days for 
     absentee ballots to be delivered to overseas voters, 
     completed, and returned before the state's deadline. She also 
     emphasized the logistical challenge facing the U.S. Postal 
     Service and military mail service with respect to the speedy 
     delivery of overseas ballots.
       Donald Palmer, director of the Division of Elections for 
     the Florida Department of State, testified about Florida's 
     experience serving its military and overseas voters. Mr. 
     Palmer said that providing 45 days for ballot transmission 
     and delivery, as Florida does, is ``prudent'' and 
     ``absolutely necessary, when relying solely on the mail 
     service.'' Mr. Palmer also discussed Florida's experience 
     using technology, including e-mail, fax, and the Internet, to 
     communicate with military and overseas voters and transmit 
     balloting materials to and from Americans abroad. Mr. Palmer 
     testified about an invitation from the Department of Defense 
     for Secretaries of State to travel to the Middle East and see 
     firsthand how soldiers receive their absentee ballots. 
     Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning relayed to Mr. 
     Palmer that soldiers abroad many times do not have access to 
     fax machines and often use e-mail as a primary source of 
     communication and expressed their desire to be able to use 
     email or the internet to transmit balloting materials to 
     local election officials. Mr. Palmer also detailed pilot 
     programs in Florida which have used new technologies to 
     facilitate ballot transmission from abroad. He also described 
     Florida's efforts to work with the U.S. Postal Service to 
     reduce error rates in ballot delivery and to use intelligent 
     code technology to track absentee ballots while in the 
     Continental United States.
       United States Air Force LTC Joseph DeCaro, testifying on 
     his own behalf, described his personal experiences with 
     absentee voting while serving abroad in 2004. His experience 
     illustrates the burdens facing uniformed servicemembers 
     overseas who want to vote:


[[Page 9764]]


       Every moment I spent researching and coordinating with 
     state-side resources to be able to cast my ballot was against 
     any personal time off. The mission is and always must be the 
     main focus. Being deployed is difficult enough as it is . . . 
     I think every American should do what they can to cast their 
     ballot and make their voice heard. As with many other 
     citizens, I will continue to do this, but there should be a 
     better way in which [service personnel can] cast their ballot 
     while deployed.

       Lieutenant Colonel DeCaro also lamented that he had no way 
     of knowing whether the ballot he mailed to his local election 
     office would ever reach its destination.
       Eric Eversole, former attorney at the Department of Justice 
     Civil Rights Division, Voting Rights Section, began his 
     testimony by arguing that ``when it comes to the military 
     members' right to vote, we seem to forget their sacrifices 
     and we deny them the very voting rights that we ask them to 
     defend.'' He cited statistics which showed that only 26 
     percent of Florida's deployed servicemembers were able to 
     successfully request an absentee ballot in 2008. He also 
     echoed prior testimony that States should mail out absentee 
     ballots to military and overseas voters at least 45 days 
     before the local deadline to have the ballot count. Mr. 
     Eversole testified about the need for improvements in the 
     Federal Voting Assistance Program. Mr. Eversole strongly 
     advocated for military personnel to receive appropriate 
     voting information and voter registration materials when they 
     move or deploy to a new installation or port. In response to 
     a question I asked, Mr. Eversole also testified that certain 
     offices at the Department of Defense should be designed as 
     voter registration agencies under the National Voter 
     Registration Act.
       Robert Carey, executive director of the National Defense 
     Committee, testified about his own experience taking a leave 
     of absence from his duty as a member of the U.S. Navy 
     Reserves and flying back to New York City at his own expense 
     in order to vote in the 2004 election. He cited research 
     showing that only 26 percent of the ballots requested by 
     overseas soldiers in 2006 were successfully cast. Mr. Carey 
     emphasized that insufficient time was the chief reason for 
     these statistics, arguing that States too often send out 
     ballots too late for military voters to complete and return 
     them in time to be counted. He pointed to a study conducted 
     by the Pew Center on the States, Pew, which found that 23 
     States do not provide enough time for military and overseas 
     voters to successfully cast their ballots. Mr. Carey also 
     recommended that ballots be sent out at least 60 days before 
     they were due.
       Several organizations submitted statements for the hearing 
     record. Pew submitted a copy of its 2009 study of military 
     and overseas voting, No Time to Vote, for the committee 
     record. In its accompanying letter, Pew highlighted several 
     recommendations for reform from the study, including 
     ``sending out overseas absentee ballots sooner, eliminating 
     notary and witness requirements and harnessing technology to 
     allow for the electronic transmission of ballots and election 
     materials to voters overseas.''
       The Overseas Vote Foundation, OVF, submitted a copy of its 
     2008 post-election survey for the record. The survey included 
     data obtained from over 24,000 overseas voters and over 1,000 
     local election officials. Among OVF's key findings was that 
     more than half, 52 percent, of those overseas military voters 
     who tried but could not vote were unable to because their 
     ballots were late or did not arrive. OVF also found that 
     despite concerted efforts, less than half of UOCAVA voters 
     were aware of the Federal write-in absentee ballot.
       Democrats Abroad submitted a statement for the record 
     emphasizing the difficulties for military and overseas voters 
     stemming from the patchwork of varied State and local 
     regulations, a lack of awareness of the Federal write-in 
     absentee ballot, and general inability to effectively 
     communicate with local election officials from abroad.
       Tom Tarantino, legislative associate with Iraq and 
     Afghanistan Veterans of America, submitted a statement for 
     the record including testimony about his own experience as a 
     voting assistance officer, citing the lack of sufficient 
     training about how to effectively educate soldiers about 
     absentee balloting procedures. Mr. Tarantino recommended 
     improving the voting assistance officer program and suggested 
     that the Department of Defense be required to ensure safe and 
     timely passage of military ballots to their home districts.
       The Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas submitted 
     a statement for the record in which it recommended that 
     States send overseas absentee ballots at least 45 days before 
     the deadline and that voter materials, including ballots, not 
     be rejected for reasons unrelated to voter eligibility.
       Everyone Counts submitted a ``white paper'' for the record 
     comparing the effectiveness of various voting technologies 
     for military and overseas voters.
       Alex Yasinac, dean of the School of Information and 
     Computer Sciences at the University of South Alabama, 
     submitted a statement for the record analyzing various 
     technological solutions to improve overseas absentee voting. 
     Dr. Yasinac suggested the creation of a technological pilot 
     program for overseas voters, including the use of virtual 
     private networks, cryptographic voting systems, and document 
     delivery upload systems to ensure secure electronic 
     transmission of balloting materials.


                        Introduction of the Bill

       I introduced S. 1415, the MOVE Act of 2009, on July 8, 
     2009, and was joined by Senators Saxby Chambliss and Ben 
     Nelson as original cosponsors. After the bill's introduction, 
     56 additional Senators joined as cosponsors. The bill was 
     referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.


                   Committee Consideration at Markup

       S. 1415 was considered by the Senate Rules Committee at a 
     markup held on July 15, 2009. The committee adopted three 
     amendments which I submitted on behalf of Senator John 
     Cornyn, who had introduced separate legislation on improving 
     military voting that was pending at the time in the Rules 
     Committee. Senator Cornyn joined in this endeavor by 
     contributing his knowledge and expertise on military voting 
     to the MOVE Act. Senator Robert Bennett, ranking member of 
     the Rules Committee, introduced an amendment with several 
     provisions intent on improving the effectiveness of the MOVE 
     Act.
       The first amendment, which I submitted on behalf of Senator 
     Cornyn, strengthened the bill by ensuring that overseas 
     military personnel can mail their marked absentee ballots to 
     their local election offices with confidence that those 
     ballots will be received and counted by directing the 
     Presidential designee to work with the U.S. Postal Service to 
     provide expedited delivery services for ballots that are 
     collected before a prescribed deadline. The provision 
     provides ample discretion for the Presidential designee to 
     extend that deadline for collection of ballots, allowing the 
     Presidential designee to permit a longer transit time for 
     completed ballots to be delivered to local election 
     officials. To ensure Department of Defense accountability 
     under this section, the amendment directed the Presidential 
     designee to submit reports to the relevant congressional 
     committees to explain the procedures implemented to provide 
     the expedited mail delivery and inform the committees of the 
     number of military overseas ballots successfully and 
     unsuccessfully delivered to local election offices in time. 
     Finally, the amendment included language requiring the 
     Presidential designee to ensure, to the greatest extent 
     allowable, that the privacy of military servicemembers and 
     security of their ballots are protected during the delivery 
     process.
       The second amendment, which Senator Cornyn and I worked on 
     together, fortified the bill by expanding voter registration 
     opportunities, services, and information for military and 
     overseas voters. It also required the Department of Defense 
     to provide voting information and an opportunity for 
     servicemembers to register and update voting information 
     during certain points in service and provided the Secretary 
     of Defense flexibility to designate certain pay, personnel, 
     and identification offices as voter registration agencies. In 
     addition to voter registration, the amendment required 
     written information to be provided to servicemembers on 
     absentee ballot procedures. Finally, the amendment contained 
     reporting requirements for the Department of Defense to 
     evaluate its voter support services and send Congress its 
     recommendations for improving those programs.
       The third amendment was technical in nature and altered no 
     substantive provisions of the bill.
       Ranking Member Bennett offered a package of amendments 
     modifying several provisions of the bill. First, the 
     amendment clarified that States may delegate the obligations 
     under the MOVE Act to local jurisdictions. Some local and 
     State election administrators contacted the Rules Committee 
     to express concern because they thought that the MOVE Act 
     could be interpreted to require States, instead of 
     localities, to take administrative responsibility for running 
     elections for UOCAVA voters. Though there was no intent to 
     shift routine administrative responsibility of elections to 
     States, for the sake of clarity in the bill, I supported this 
     amendment. While clarifying that the MOVE Act can be 
     administered and implemented at the local level, the 
     amendment did not modify or otherwise alter the ultimate 
     responsibility of MOVE Act compliance, which remains with the 
     State. Accordingly, States retain the responsibility to 
     ensure local jurisdictions' compliance with UOCAVA and MOVE 
     and thus the State will continue to be the focus of any 
     potential enforcement actions that need to be taken by the 
     Attorney General.
       Senator Bennett's amendments also modified provisions of 
     the MOVE Act which had originally required States to transmit 
     balloting materials ``by mail, electronically, or by 
     facsimile.'' The text of the amendment instead read to 
     require transmission of balloting materials ``by mail and 
     electronically.'' This change clarified the requirement on 
     State and local election administrators that, in addition to 
     mail, they must provide at least one method of fast and 
     effective electronic means of transmitting balloting

[[Page 9765]]

     materials to U.S. citizens overseas and uniformed 
     servicemembers. It is important to note that Bob Carey during 
     his testimony before the Rules Committee on May 13, 2009, 
     testified that ``[R]ecent research by the National Defense 
     Committee indicates that fax transmission is not an effective 
     option for military personnel, especially those suffering the 
     greatest disenfranchisement in this process.'' However, at 
     the same time, the amendment's language clarified that 
     election administrators may provide multiple means of 
     electronic communication in order to ensure speedy 
     transmission of information, registration and balloting 
     materials.
       Senator Bennett's amendments also reinforced the privacy 
     and security provisions of the original legislation by 
     directing States to protect, to the extent practicable, the 
     integrity of the voter registration and absentee ballot 
     process through procedures that shield identity and personal 
     data.
       The amendments also simplified the timing provisions of the 
     original legislation by mandating that whenever a State 
     receives an absentee ballot request at least 45 days before a 
     Federal election it must send out an absentee ballot not 
     later than 45 days before the election. With respect to valid 
     ballot applications received after 45 days prior to such an 
     election, States are required to transmit a validly requested 
     absentee ballot in accordance with State law and as 
     expeditiously as possible. However, the amendment did not 
     impact the 30-day requirement under UOCAVA. At the same time, 
     the amendment removed language from the original version of 
     the bill which would have required States to accept and count 
     absentee ballots received up to 55 days after the date on 
     which an absentee ballot was transmitted or the date on which 
     the State certified an election, whichever was later. The 
     negotiated modification placed a 45-day mandate on States to 
     promptly respond to military and overseas absentee ballot 
     requests.
       The amendments also strengthened Department of Justice 
     oversight of absentee voting by uniformed services and 
     overseas voters by requiring the Presidential designee to 
     consult with the Attorney General before approving any 
     hardship exemptions from States unable to comply with the 
     bill's timing provisions. This will help ensure a unified 
     governmental response to State compliance with the MOVE Act.
       Finally, the amendments repealed subsections (a) through 
     (d) of Sec. 104 of the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting 
     Act, which allowed military and overseas absentee ballot 
     applicants to indicate on their Federal Postcard Application 
     form that their application should be considered a continuing 
     application for an absentee ballot through the next two 
     regularly scheduled general elections. Given the highly 
     mobile nature of military and overseas voters, there was a 
     concern among States that this provision of UOCAVA required a 
     large number of ballots to be sent to old and outdated 
     addresses. Election officials reported receiving a large 
     number of these continuing absentee ballots as ``returned 
     undeliverable,'' thus artificially inflating the number of 
     failed ballots, and potentially wasting State resources. 
     Repealing these sections addressed those concerns. This 
     amended section does not prohibit States from providing 
     continuing applications for absentee ballots, or accepting 
     ballots received under such continuing applications. This 
     amended section also does not prohibit States from 
     considering a Federal Postcard Application submitted for a 
     primary election to carry over to the general election in 
     that same election cycle.
       The committee agreed to all of the proposed amendments and 
     adopted them by voice vote. The committee then voted to 
     report S. 1415, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment 
     Act, as amended. The committee proceeded by voice vote, and 
     all members present became cosponsors of the legislation. S. 
     1415, as amended, was ordered reported to the Senate.


      Passage by the Senate of the MOVE Act provisions in the DOD 
                           authorization bill

       On July 22, 2009, I offered Senate amendment No. 1764 to S. 
     1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 
     2010, on the Senate Floor.
       Senator Cornyn spoke in support of this amendment that day:

       Our military servicemembers put their lives on the line to 
     protect our rights and our freedoms. Yet many of them still 
     face substantial roadblocks when it comes to something as 
     simple as casting their ballots and participating in our 
     national elections . . . This important amendment contains 
     many other commonsense reforms suggested by other Senators 
     and will help end the effective disenfranchisement of our 
     troops and their families. Our goal has been to balance 
     responsibilities between elections officials and the 
     Department of Defense, and I believe this amendment 
     accomplishes that goal.

       On July 23, 2009, I urged my colleagues to support the MOVE 
     Act amendment to the DOD authorization legislation:

       Now, if [our soldiers] can risk their lives for us we can 
     at least allow them to vote. They take orders from the 
     commander-in-chief. They are the first people who ought to be 
     allowed to elect and vote for a commander-in-chief. And if we 
     can deploy tanks and high-tech equipment and food to the 
     front lines, we can figure out a way to deliver ballots to 
     our troops so they can be returned and counted. And that, Mr. 
     President, is what the MOVE Act does.

       Senator Bennett spoke in support of the amendment:

       Now, then the legislation was introduced in its original 
     form, I raised concerns with Senator Schumer about some of 
     its provisions. He worked with me and my staff to address 
     these concerns and the amendment that we have before us today 
     effectively does so. That's why I'm pleased to now be a 
     cosponsor of the bill. The difficulties our service personnel 
     face in voting and the Senator from New York has described 
     them, and I believe this amendment deals with them in a 
     proper fashion.

       Senator Chambliss also spoke in support of the amendment:

       [N]ot since the passage of the Uniform and Overseas Voting 
     Act in 1986 have we proposed such significant legislation 
     designed to help the men and women of the military who time 
     and time again are called upon to defend the rights and 
     freedoms that we Americans hold so sacred. Unfortunately, our 
     military's one of the most disenfranchised voting blocs we 
     have and today we have the opportunity to correct this.

       Senator Nelson also added comments in support:

       We owe it to our men and women in uniform to protect their 
     right to vote. And for military and overseas votes, that 
     right is only as good as their ability to cast a ballot and 
     have it counted. For years, we have known of the obstacles 
     these brave Americans face in exercising their right to vote, 
     often when far from home and in harm's way. I firmly believe 
     this legislation will make a huge impact in empowering our 
     military and overseas voters to have their votes counted no 
     matter where they find themselves on election day.

       Senate amendment No. 1764 to S. 1390 was agreed to by voice 
     vote on July 23, 2009. The Senate took up H.R. 2647 on July 
     23, approved an amendment that substituted the text of S. 
     1390, then passed the bill by unanimous consent and requested 
     a conference with the House. A Senate-House conference was 
     held, and the House passed the conference report to H.R. 
     2647, H. Rept. 111-288, on October 8, 2009, and the Senate 
     passed it on October 22, 2009. H.R. 2647 was signed by the 
     President on October 28, 2009, and became Public Law 111-84.


                           The MOVE Act Today

       The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 is 
     a response to an unacceptable situation--the 
     disenfranchisement of Americans serving and living abroad who 
     are unable to vote because of logistical and geographic 
     barriers.
       The MOVE Act brings to an end a system that in the past 
     allowed a quarter of the ballots requested by U.S. troops to 
     go unreturned. It does so by insisting that every military 
     and overseas vote be counted. Congress recognized that those 
     who fight to defend America's freedom often face the greatest 
     obstacles in exercising their right to vote. Congress acted 
     to break down the challenges and barriers to voting faced by 
     these citizens with passage of the provisions of the Military 
     and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act.
       Most of the MOVE Act provisions will be in place for the 
     November 2010 general elections. States started implementing 
     measures and procedures to comply with the MOVE Act almost 
     immediately after passage of Public Law 111-84. At the 
     Federal level, the Department of Defense has been in 
     consultation with the Attorney General to develop and 
     promulgate regulations to administer the waiver process. As 
     the 2010 Federal election approaches, the States and the 
     Department of Defense are making every effort to ensure that 
     military and overseas voters have every opportunity to 
     register, vote, and have their vote counted.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section of 
the MOVE Act provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for 
fiscal year 2010 be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

        Section-by-Section Analysis of the MOVE Act in the NDAA

       The following is an explanation of each provision of the 
     bill, what it does, and how it improves the ability of 
     military and overseas voters to register, vote, and have 
     their votes count in elections. It should be noted that in 
     conference, there were two major substantive changes in the 
     MOVE Act provisions as passed by the Senate.
       One, the section on ``Findings'' was stricken. The 
     ``Findings'' section provided an explanatory foundation for 
     MOVE and why it was critical for its provisions to be 
     enacted. It highlighted the fundamental nature of the right 
     to vote; the logistical, geographical, operational, and 
     environmental barriers that create obstacles for military and 
     overseas voters to exercise their right to the franchise; the 
     central role shared by States and

[[Page 9766]]

     the Department of Defense in overseeing and facilitating 
     military and overseas voting; and the need for the relevant 
     State, local, and Federal government entities to work 
     together to ensure the ability of military and overseas 
     voters to have their ballots count.
       Two, the responsibilities attributed to the Department of 
     Defense in ensuring military voters can effectively register 
     to vote was changed in conference from the Senate-passed 
     version. The reason for this change is explained in the 
     summary of Section 583.
     Section 575. Short title.
       Title: ``Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act''.
     Section 576. Clarification regarding delegation of State 
         responsibilities to local jurisdictions.
       This section clarifies that while the MOVE Act contains a 
     number of mandates on the States with respect to military and 
     overseas absentee voting, States remain free to delegate 
     those responsibilities to local officials as they did under 
     UOCAVA. In effect, this provision puts States on notice that 
     the MOVE Act does not intend to and does not in fact take 
     administrative control of military and overseas voting out of 
     the hands of local officials. Compliance with MOVE's 
     mandates, however, ultimately remains a State responsibility, 
     and States will continue to be the main entity against which 
     the provisions of MOVE and UOCAVA will be enforced should 
     enforcement by the Department of Justice become necessary.
     Section 577. Establishment of procedures for absent uniformed 
         services voters and overseas voters to request and for 
         States to send voter registration applications and 
         absentee ballot applications by mail and electronically.
       This section amends UOCAVA to require States to allow 
     military and overseas voters the choice of requesting voter 
     registration applications and absentee ballot applications 
     either by mail or electronically. It mandates that the 
     voter's choice of mail versus electronic extends to the mode 
     of delivery of both the voter registration and absentee 
     ballot applications. States must give all UOCAVA voters the 
     option of receiving their applications by mail or 
     electronically. To ensure military and overseas voters have 
     an opportunity to choose their desired delivery method, 
     States must provide a way for voters to designate their 
     preferred method of delivery, and States are required to send 
     these materials in accordance with the voter's designation. 
     If no delivery preference is indicated, States are to 
     transmit these materials according to applicable State law 
     or, in the absence of such law, by mail. The requirements of 
     this section apply to all general, special, primary, and 
     runoff elections for Federal office.
       Allowing military and overseas voters to request and 
     receive voter registration and absentee ballot applications 
     electronically requires States to establish at least one 
     means of electronic communication for military and overseas 
     voters to use. States are free to establish multiple means of 
     electronic communication if they wish. In addition to using 
     the electronic format to give voters the option of requesting 
     and receiving voter registration and absentee ballot 
     applications, it is also to be used to provide any other 
     related voting, balloting, and election information requested 
     by or otherwise provided to the voter.
       In addition to email and the Internet, this provision 
     contemplates the use of fax machines as a legitimate means of 
     electronic transmission. This gives States an additional 
     method of electronic communication. However, it is important 
     to note that the Rules Committee received testimony regarding 
     the challenges of solely relying on fax technology for 
     military and overseas voting. Robert Carey, the Executive 
     Director of the National Defense Committee pointed out in his 
     written testimony that ensuring the privacy of a faxed 
     absentee ballot is difficult. He also cited research 
     indicating that only 39% of junior enlisted personnel had 
     daily access to a fax machine. This provision therefore 
     contemplates the use of fax technology as States gradually 
     transition to more accessible forms of transmission for 
     military and overseas voters through internet and email 
     usage.
       Information about how to communicate with States 
     electronically, including any official designated email, web 
     addresses, and phone numbers, should be readily accessible 
     and is required to be included with any informational or 
     instructional materials that accompany balloting materials 
     sent to military and overseas voters.
       The provisions of this section are a direct response to 
     evidence gathered by the Rules Committee that showed lengthy 
     mail transit times for voting materials, including 
     registration forms and absentee ballot applications. This was 
     a fundamental reason why so many of these voters did not have 
     enough time to vote, and it showed the difficulty military 
     and overseas voters have in communicating efficiently and 
     effectively with State and local election officials. Taking 
     advantage of modern technology is an important part of the 
     solution to the ``no time to vote'' problem. The testimony of 
     Lieutenant Colonel Joseph DeCaro at the Rules Committee's May 
     2009 hearing, in which he repeatedly expressed his gratitude 
     for internet connectivity while serving in Air Force and 
     described how he was able to use email to quickly communicate 
     with local election officials, is particularly instructive. 
     Lt. Colonel DeCaro testified that postal mail can sometimes 
     take up to three weeks to reach its destination.
       Compliance with this provision of the law may save States a 
     substantial amount of money. Using a multiplier of $12.95 for 
     a 1 oz. United States Postal Service Priority Mail 
     international flat-rate mailing, States can potentially save 
     as much as $1,295,000 for every 100,000 military and overseas 
     voters that utilize electronic transmission methods of 
     sending voter registration and ballot request materials.
       This section also directs the Federal Voting Assistance 
     Program of the Department of Defense to maintain and make 
     available an online repository of State contact information 
     with respect to Federal elections for use by military and 
     overseas voters. The repository should include contact 
     information for all the relevant State and local election 
     officials in each State, including any designated email and 
     Internet addresses and phone and fax numbers instituted to 
     comply with the provisions of this law.
       Finally, this section contains additional provisions 
     directing States, to the extent practicable, to ensure the 
     integrity of the voter registration and absentee ballot 
     request process, as well as the protection of personal data.
     Section 578. Establishment of procedures for States to 
         transmit blank absentee ballots by mail and 
         electronically to absent uniformed services voters and 
         overseas voters.
       This section amends UOCAVA to require States to establish 
     procedures for transmitting blank absentee ballots to 
     military and overseas voters both by mail and electronically 
     for all general, special, primary, and runoff elections for 
     Federal office. States are to use the preferred method of 
     transmission identified by the voter and institute a 
     procedure for allowing the voter to designate whether their 
     preferred delivery method is by mail or electronic delivery. 
     As in the previous section, if no delivery method is 
     specified, States should follow applicable State law or, in 
     the absence of such law, should deliver the blank absentee 
     ballot to the voter by mail.
       Additionally, this section contains the same language with 
     respect to election integrity and voter privacy as the prior 
     section, and the same rationale for the efficiency and 
     effectiveness of electronic transmission also applies to this 
     section with equal force.
     Section 579. Ensuring absent uniformed services voters and 
         overseas voters have time to vote.
       This section amends UOCAVA to require States to transmit 
     validly requested absentee ballots to military and overseas 
     voters not later than 45 days before an election for Federal 
     office, if a ballot request form is received by the relevant 
     local election official at least 45 days before the election. 
     In a circumstance when the absentee ballot request is 
     received less than 45 days before the election, States must 
     transmit a validly requested absentee ballot in accordance 
     with State law and in as practicable a manner as possible 
     that expedites the ballot's transmission so that the voter 
     receives the ballot with enough time to cast the ballot and 
     to have it counted. If States receive an absentee request 
     less than 45 days before the election that contains an 
     electronic delivery designation and related contact 
     information, the State can expedite the blank ballot by 
     electronic means. Of course, the UOCAVA voter still may 
     request his or her ballot to be sent by mail. States may not 
     be able to send the ballot electronically if the State lacks 
     the necessary information, for example a correct email 
     address or facsimile number.
       The language ``validly requested'' in the MOVE Act refers 
     to how this provision interacts with the pre-existing UOCAVA 
     statute. Under Sec. 102a(2) of UOCAVA, each State is required 
     to ``accept and process, with respect to any election for 
     Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration 
     application and absentee ballot application from an absent 
     uniformed services voter or overseas voter, if the 
     application is received by the appropriate State election 
     official not less than 30 days before the election.'' The 
     language ``validly requested'' in MOVE refers to applications 
     that are received by local election officials in accordance 
     with Sec. 102a(2). It should be noted that although UOCAVA 
     requires election officials to accept and process 
     applications up to at least 30 days before an election under 
     Sec. 102a(2), States are of course free under UOCAVA to 
     shorten that time period to less than 30 days to give 
     military and overseas voters more time to send in their 
     applications. In such circumstances, the language ``validly 
     requested'' also refers to ballots that are requested in time 
     under the more permissive State law.
       Also relevant here is that UOCAVA, as amended by the MOVE 
     Act, creates a 15-day ``gap'' in which a State might receive 
     an absentee ballot application from a military or overseas 
     voter less than 45 days in advance of an election, and thus 
     cannot comply with the 45-day rule under MOVE, but is still 
     required to accept and process the application due to the 30-
     day rule under Sec. 102a(2). To ensure that military and 
     overseas voters whose

[[Page 9767]]

     applications are received during this 15-day gap are given 
     enough time to vote, the MOVE Act directs States to transmit 
     such ballots ``in accordance with State law,'' which is a 
     directive for States to deliver ballots in accordance with 
     any procedures that may exist under State law for 
     transmitting ballots to UOCAVA voters, and in as practicable 
     a manner as possible that expedites the ballot's 
     transmission. This shall not supersede the MOVE requirement 
     that UOCAVA voters be able to designate their preferred 
     method of ballot delivery (mail or electronic) and the 
     State's obligation to comply. State law may allow state 
     election officials to fulfill requests that arrive less than 
     30 days before the election.
       The ``time to vote'' provision was at the top of the list 
     for potential reforms of military and overseas voting at the 
     May 2009 Rules Committee hearing, with witnesses for both the 
     Majority and the Minority endorsing such a measure. The 
     original draft of the MOVE Act contained a 55-day mandate, 
     under which States were required to send out ballots 45 days 
     before an election and accept ballots up to 10 days after the 
     election or by the State's certification date, whichever was 
     later. This original provision was a response to complaints 
     that certain jurisdictions refuse to count ballots from 
     UOCAVA voters when those ballots are sent to States on or 
     before Election Day but do not reach State or local election 
     officials until after the polls have closed. However, there 
     were concerns that this post-election requirement would 
     intrude on States' ability to certify their elections in a 
     manner that complies with their respective State laws or 
     constitutions. Therefore the bill was modified to require 
     that ballots be sent out at least 45 days before Election 
     Day. The consensus recommendation emerged for a 45-day 
     requirement following the hearing because it provides 
     sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to request, receive and 
     cast their ballots in time to be counted in the election for 
     Federal office and better accommodates the laws of a number 
     of states.
       However, recognizing that circumstances may arise that 
     prevent States from complying with the mandate to send 
     ballots 45 days before Election Day, the MOVE Act also 
     includes procedures whereby States can apply for a waiver 
     from that provision. Waivers are submitted to the 
     Presidential designee who, after consultation with the 
     Attorney General, will decide whether to approve or deny the 
     waiver request. If approved, the waiver is valid only for the 
     election for which the State requested it. MOVE does not 
     contemplate permanent waivers. Nor does MOVE contemplate 
     ``automatic'' renewals of waivers--a waiver that is approved 
     for one election is not automatically valid for or applicable 
     to the State's next election. The reason is to protect UOCAVA 
     voters from situations where a State's plan is approved by 
     the Presidential designee, but ultimately proves insufficient 
     to serve as a substitute for the 45-day rule. For example, if 
     a waiver is granted for an election because the Presidential 
     designee determines that the comprehensive State plan will 
     give military and overseas voters enough time to vote, but 
     evidence subsequently shows that, in practice during the 
     election cycle, the State plan did not provide enough time to 
     vote, a future waiver request with a similar State plan may 
     not be granted just because it had been approved for the 
     prior election. However, if a waiver is approved and the 
     State plan is proven effective, a similar State plan 
     resubmitted in a subsequent election cycle may be approved 
     again. The key is that the State plan must provide adequate 
     substitute procedures so that UOCAVA voters are given an 
     opportunity to vote that is at least as sufficient as if the 
     State complied with the 45-day rule. In some cases, the State 
     waiver plan may provide even greater protection for UOCAVA 
     voters, and such plans would serve the interests of the 
     UOCAVA voters and the intent of the law. Thus state plans 
     that offer protection for UOCAVA voters that is better than 
     or equal to the 45-day provision and procedures that go 
     beyond other minimum requirements for state assistance for 
     those voters could merit repeated waivers.
       This section mandates that the Presidential designee can 
     only approve or reject a waiver after consulting with the 
     Attorney General, since the Attorney General is the office 
     that enforces UOCAVA and the provisions of the MOVE Act, and 
     there should be coordination between the two entities. 
     Consultation between the Presidential designee and Attorney 
     General will promote consistency so that election officials 
     do not receive mixed messages about the viability of waiver 
     requests.
       The Presidential designee may only grant a waiver if a 
     specific standard is met, which is laid out in the MOVE Act. 
     First, the Presidential designee may grant a waiver if one or 
     more of the following circumstances exist to prevent a State 
     from complying with the 45-day rule: (1) the State has a late 
     primary election date, making it impossible to send validly 
     requested ballots to voters 45 days before the election; (2) 
     the State has suffered a delay in generating ballots due to a 
     legal contest, such as a contested primary; or (3) the 
     State's Constitution prohibits the State from complying with 
     the 45-day rule. These are the only three circumstances under 
     which a waiver request may be sought under MOVE.
       In addition to a finding that at least one of these 
     circumstances exists, the waiver request itself must include, 
     in writing, the following: a recognition of the need to 
     provide overseas voters with enough time to vote; an 
     explanation of the hardship that prevents the State from 
     transmitting absentee ballots 45 days before the election; 
     the number of days prior to the Federal election that the 
     State will transmit absentee ballots to military and overseas 
     voters; and a comprehensive plan ensuring that military and 
     overseas voters are able to receive and return requested 
     absentee ballots in time to be counted. The plan must include 
     the specific steps the State will take to ensure military and 
     overseas voters have time to receive, mark, and submit their 
     ballots in time to have them counted, an explanation of how 
     the plan serves as an effective substitute for the 45-day 
     rule, and relevant information that clearly explains how the 
     plan is sufficient to substitute for the 45-day rule in a 
     manner that allows enough time to vote. States are free to 
     use innovative methods to ensure their comprehensive plan 
     gives military and overseas voters enough time to vote.
       Testimony before the Rules Committee supported the practice 
     of some States that accept and count UOCAVA ballots after 
     Election Day as one way of protecting the voting rights of 
     their UOCAVA voters. This can be an acceptable option for 
     states whose constitution and laws allow it and who want that 
     flexibility. States must be mindful that even when they count 
     UOCAVA ballots after an election, those voters may not be 
     aware of that procedure. Therefore, a state should ensure 
     that voters get ballots with enough time to vote and inform 
     them of the state's procedures for receiving and counting 
     ballots.
       To summarize, the Presidential designee can issue a waiver 
     only if one or more of three exigent circumstances exists: a 
     prohibitively late primary date; a legal contest that results 
     in a delay in generating ballots; or a conflict with a 
     State's Constitution. In addition, the Presidential designee 
     makes a determination that the State requesting the waiver 
     has submitted an acceptable plan, containing all necessary 
     information, which provides military and overseas voters with 
     enough time to receive, mark, and submit their absentee 
     ballots in time to have that ballot count in the election. 
     The Presidential designee must consult with the Attorney 
     General before approving a waiver request, since the Attorney 
     General is charged with enforcing and ensuring State 
     compliance with the provisions of UOCAVA and MOVE.
       Waiver requests must be submitted by the chief State 
     election official to the Presidential designee not later than 
     90 days before the Federal election for which it is 
     requested, and the Presidential designee must approve or deny 
     the waiver not later than 65 days before the election. If the 
     hardship at issue is a legal challenge arising in a way that 
     makes compliance with the 90-day deadline impossible, the 
     State must submit the waiver request as soon as possible and 
     the Presidential designee will approve or reject it not later 
     than 5 business days after its receipt. It is certainly 
     possible that DOD in consultation with DOJ, rather than 
     rejecting a waiver request, might request the State to make 
     modifications in the waiver request that would allow the 
     waiver to be granted.
       A waiver approved by the Presidential designee is valid 
     only for the Federal election for which the State requested 
     it and cannot be used by a State for any subsequent Federal 
     election. If a State wishes to request a waiver for a 
     subsequent Federal election, it must submit another waiver 
     request.
     Section 580. Procedures for collection and delivery of marked 
         absentee ballots of absent overseas uniformed services 
         voters.
       This section amends UOCAVA by directing the Presidential 
     designee to develop and implement procedures for collecting 
     marked absentee ballots, including the Federal write-in 
     absentee ballot, from absent overseas uniformed services 
     voters, and facilitating their delivery in a manner that 
     ensures that the ballots are received by the appropriate 
     election officials in time to be counted.
       This provision was a response to evidence gathered by the 
     Rules Committee about the unpredictable nature of serving 
     overseas. At the Rules Committee hearing in May 2009, Eric 
     Eversole, formerly an attorney with the Department of Justice 
     Civil Rights Division's Voting Rights Section, testified that 
     an expedited mail delivery system would reduce the ballot 
     delivery time. In circumstances, such as unforeseen military 
     action, where overseas military personnel might be prevented 
     from sending in time to be counted, an expedited mail 
     delivery system would compensate for those numerous, 
     unforeseen factors. This requirement also is supported by the 
     statement from Tom Tarantino, Legislative Associate with Iraq 
     and Afghanistan Veterans of America, that the Department of 
     Defense should be responsible for collecting overseas 
     servicemembers' absentee ballots to ensure their delivery, 
     and to make certain that military voters serving overseas are 
     able to return their ballots in a timely and predictable 
     fashion because to do

[[Page 9768]]

     so is ``the most immediate step that Congress can take in 
     protecting the voting rights of service men and women.'' This 
     provision also incorporates language similar to a legislative 
     initiative introduced by Senator Cornyn, who has advocated 
     for DOD to take a direct role in providing expedited ballot 
     delivery.
       This section directs the Presidential designee to establish 
     procedures for collecting absentee ballots from overseas 
     military voters, and to facilitate their delivery so they are 
     received by local election officials in time to be counted. 
     The Presidential designee must work in conjunction with the 
     U.S. Postal Service to provide expedited mail delivery for 
     all absentee ballots from overseas military members. These 
     ballots will be collected up until noon on the seventh day 
     preceding the date of the upcoming election for expedited 
     transmittal. This section also gives the Presidential 
     designee flexibility to change that deadline if remoteness or 
     other factors associated with military service, such as being 
     located in a combat zone, warrant collecting and transmitting 
     ballots prior to the regular deadline to ensure the ballots 
     can be counted in time.
       Finally, this section mandates that all ballots sent by 
     military members overseas have to be postmarked by the 
     Military Postal Service with the date the ballot was mailed. 
     In accordance with existing law, it must be carried free of 
     postage. Without a postmark, election officials have been 
     unable to tell when a ballot was mailed, increasing the 
     likelihood of uncounted votes from military personnel. This 
     provision addresses the postmark problem and eliminates the 
     risk of a ballot not being counted for this reason.
       In carrying out this provision, the Presidential designee 
     is charged with the responsibility of making certain that 
     overseas military voters are aware of the expedited mail 
     procedures and deadlines involved. The Presidential designee 
     shall do this in a number of ways within his discretion, such 
     as making information available via the Global Military 
     Network, through easily accessible websites frequently used 
     by military members, and in the informational forms made 
     available to military members during critical points in 
     service, such as the administrative in-processing at a new 
     installation or base. A later section of MOVE requires the 
     Presidential Designee to create online information portals 
     and use the Global Military Network to inform military voters 
     of voter registration information and absentee ballot rights.
       In drafting this legislation, the Rules Committee 
     considered a direct mandate on the Department of Defense 
     which would have required that absentee ballots be 
     transmitted to the appropriate election officials by a date 
     certain. In consultation with the Department of Defense, 
     however, personnel of that agency responsible for overseeing 
     absentee voting for overseas military personnel expressed 
     concern that complying with such a provision would be beyond 
     its control. Absentee ballots mailed from abroad enter the 
     domestic mail system once those ballots reach the United 
     States and are no longer under DOD control. This section 
     recognizes that reality, while at the same time solidifying 
     the DOD's role in expediting transit times for these ballots 
     so they can reach local election officials in time to be 
     counted.
       This section includes three supplemental provisions. First, 
     it directs the chief State election official in each State, 
     working alongside local officials, to develop a free access 
     system whereby all military and overseas voters can track 
     whether or not their absentee ballots have been received by 
     the appropriate election official. This language was 
     suggested by Lt. Col. Joseph DeCaro and others, to ensure 
     that UOCAVA voters know their ballots are similarly situated 
     to domestic absentee voters. Receipt of the UOCAVA ballot by 
     the local election official marks the most important hurdle 
     for overseas voters: getting the completed ballot back to the 
     election office.
       Second, it mandates that those soldiers who cast ballots at 
     locations under the jurisdiction of the Presidential 
     designee, such as military installations, are able to cast 
     their ballots as privately and independently as possible. 
     Ensuring the privacy of all voters is important, and military 
     voters should be able to vote in a private and independent 
     manner.
       Third, it directs the Presidential designee to ensure, to 
     the extent practicable, that absentee ballots in the 
     possession or control of the Presidential designee remain 
     private. Again, absentee ballot procedures should protect the 
     privacy of the voters, to the extent practicable.
       This section only requires expedited mail procedures for 
     overseas service personnel and not all UOCAVA voters. In 
     crafting the legislation, the Rules Committee staff was 
     concerned about the challenges facing non-military overseas 
     voters seeking timely return of their ballots to State 
     election officials. Unfortunately, the problems inherent in 
     engaging every foreign, nonmilitary post office to provide 
     such assistance made this expansion of the expedited mail 
     requirement impractical at the present time. Additionally, 
     several of the challenges justifying the provisions of this 
     section, such as the sporadic lack of postmarks on military 
     mail and unpredictable conditions associated with service, 
     are pervasive problems faced by overseas military personnel. 
     However, under this section State officials are required to 
     develop the tracking system for absentee ballots from both 
     military and overseas voters. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph 
     DeCaro of the United States Air Force testified at the Rules 
     Committee's May 2009 hearing about his frustration at not 
     knowing whether his ballot had been received by State 
     officials. The tracking provision addresses this concern. The 
     Help America Vote Act already requires a free access system 
     to notify voters about whether or not their provisional 
     ballots have been counted. The MOVE Act absentee ballots are 
     not provisional ballots. However, it should not be too 
     difficult for State election officials to develop a system 
     that military and overseas voters can use to get information 
     about the status of their ballots that is similar to the 
     system mandated under HAVA for provision ballots. This will 
     allow those voters to complete FWAB ballots if it becomes 
     clear their ballot was not received in a timely fashion.
     Section 581. Federal write-in absentee ballot.
       This section amends UOCAVA to expand the availability and 
     accessibility of the Federal write-in absentee ballot and to 
     promote its use among military and overseas absentee voters.
       The FWAB functions as a failsafe ballot for military and 
     overseas voters. It allows them to submit this ballot to 
     local election officials in every State in circumstances 
     where they have not received a requested ballot in time from 
     their respective election officials. However, information 
     gathered during Congressional hearings clarified the fact 
     that awareness of the FWAB among military and overseas voters 
     is very low, and therefore an underutilized resource. At the 
     May 2009 hearing on military voting problems held by the 
     Elections Subcommittee of the House Committee on 
     Administration, Gunnery Sergeant Jessie Jane Duff (Ret.) 
     testified that she had never heard of the FWAB despite a 
     twenty-year career as a marine.
       Under this section, the Presidential designee is required 
     to adopt procedures to promote and expand the use of the FWAB 
     as a back-up measure. As part of this effort and required by 
     other sections of MOVE, the Presidential designee shall take 
     steps to make servicemembers aware of its existence and 
     function, by promoting it through the Global Military Network 
     and at critical points of service (example: such as the 
     administrative check-in of soldiers at a new base or 
     installation).
       This section also expands the availability and utilization 
     of the FWAB in two significant ways. First, it expands the 
     mandatory availability of the FWAB as a failsafe ballot from 
     use only in general elections, under the original UOCAVA 
     statute, to also include special, primary, and runoff 
     elections for Federal office. This is an important expansion 
     of its use, because special, primary and runoff elections 
     generally have shorter time periods between the time when 
     ballots are made available to voters and Election Day.
       Second, this section directs the Presidential designee to 
     expand and promote the use of the FWAB as a back-up ballot. 
     As part of this effort, the law directs the Presidential 
     designee to use technology to develop a system under which a 
     military or overseas voter can enter his or her address or 
     other appropriate information, and the system will generate a 
     list of all candidates for Federal office in the voter's 
     jurisdiction. The voter will now have the information needed 
     to fill out the FWAB and submit it to his or her election 
     official. Such technology has already been developed through 
     a partnership between the Pew Center on the States and the 
     Overseas Vote Foundation, as noted in Pew's No Time to Vote: 
     Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters report 
     submitted for the record for the Rules Committee's May 2009 
     hearing.
     Section 582. Prohibiting refusal to accept voter registration 
         and absentee ballot applications, marked absentee 
         ballots, and Federal write-in absentee ballots for 
         failure to meet certain requirements.
       This section amends UOCAVA by prohibiting States from 
     rejecting registration applications, ballot request 
     applications and ballots for reasons unrelated to voter 
     eligibility. The section is a response to evidence gathered 
     by the Rules Committee highlighting the unfortunate practice, 
     in certain jurisdictions, of rejecting absentee ballots and 
     other election materials for immaterial reasons. In his 
     testimony at the May 2009 Rules Committee hearing, Robert 
     Carey of the National Defense Committee recommended 
     eliminating notarization requirements for UOCAVA voters. That 
     recommendation was echoed by representatives of the Pew 
     Center on the States and the Overseas Vote Foundation. While 
     the original draft of MOVE in S. 1415 also eliminated witness 
     requirements in UOCAVA ballots, that provision was removed 
     through committee negotiations. Any witness requirements that 
     may be imposed by States should allow flexibility to ensure a 
     voter can easily complete an absentee ballot. Any complex 
     witness requirements make it more difficult for military and 
     overseas voters to complete and cast an absentee ballot.
       The first provision of this section prohibits States from 
     rejecting otherwise valid voter

[[Page 9769]]

      registration applications, absentee ballot applications 
     (including the official post card form prescribed under 
     UOCAVA), and marked absentee ballots submitted by military 
     and overseas voters solely on the basis of notarization 
     requirements, restrictions on paper type, and restrictions on 
     envelope type. In some cases, the need to photocopy a ballot 
     may result in a completed absentee ballot on different paper. 
     No jurisdiction should reject a properly completed form 
     simply because of the paper used.
       The second provision contains similar prohibitions on 
     rejecting the FWAB. It prohibits States from rejecting marked 
     FWAB ballots solely because of notarization requirements, 
     restrictions on paper type, and restrictions on envelope 
     type.
     Section 583. Federal Voting Assistance Program (``FVAP'').
       This section amends UOCAVA to improve the Federal Voting 
     Assistance Program for military voters. These provisions 
     increase the availability of materials containing information 
     on absentee voting procedures for military voters, as well as 
     expand the overall awareness of such procedures.
       The section directs the Presidential designee to take two 
     major steps to meet this end--first, to create an online 
     portal of information where our military can access 
     information about registration and balloting procedures in 
     their respective States; and second, to establish a program 
     using the Global Military Network, an email network that 
     reaches out to virtually every member of our military, to 
     notify servicemembers 90, 60, and 30 days prior to each 
     election for Federal office of voter registration information 
     and resources, the availability of the Federal postcard 
     application, and the availability of the FWAB as a fail-safe 
     ballot.
       It should be noted that the sponsors of the MOVE Act 
     acknowledged that the Department of Defense already had a 
     number of regulations in place to try to assist 
     servicemembers in exercising their right to vote. Therefore, 
     a provision was included to clarify that the provisions of 
     MOVE were not meant to eliminate any other duties or 
     obligations promulgated by the DOD that are not inconsistent 
     or contradictory with the MOVE Act.
       The section mandates that not later than 180 days after 
     passage of the MOVE Act, the Secretary of each military 
     department of the Armed Forces must designate offices on 
     military installations under their jurisdiction to provide 
     comprehensive voter registration services for troops and 
     their families. The office will serve as a clearinghouse for 
     providing servicemembers the opportunity to receive 
     information on the following: voter registration and absentee 
     ballot procedures, information and assistance with 
     registering to vote in their States, information and 
     assistance with updating the individual's voter registration 
     information, including instructions on how to use and submit 
     the Federal postcard application as a change of address form, 
     and information and assistance with requesting an absentee 
     ballot from the voter's local election official.
       The section gives priority to individuals transitioning 
     through critical points in their service, such as individuals 
     who are undergoing a permanent change of duty station, 
     deploying overseas for at least six months, returning from an 
     overseas deployment of at least six months, or who otherwise 
     request assistance related to voter registration. These 
     resources are required by this section to be provided at 
     least during the administrative processing associated with 
     these points in service. By detailing exactly which points in 
     time servicemembers are to receive such information, this 
     section ensures that these voter resources can be most easily 
     and efficiently provided to our troops. As a result, their 
     ability to participate in Federal elections will be 
     dramatically increased.
       The Secretary of each military department (or the 
     Presidential designee) is required to take steps to make the 
     availability of these resources known to military voters 
     through outreach efforts that include the availability of the 
     designated voter registration offices and the time, location, 
     and manner in which military voters may access such 
     assistance. The Presidential designee and Secretaries of 
     military departments are free to undertake a variety of 
     methods to satisfy this provision, including the requirements 
     in other sections of MOVE to inform servicemembers of the 
     ballot collection and expedited delivery procedures.
       Finally, this section allows the Secretary of Defense to 
     authorize the Secretaries of the military departments of the 
     Armed Forces to designate offices on military installations 
     as voter registration agencies under Sec. 7(a)(2) of the 
     National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
       Under the provisions of the MOVE Act as passed by the 
     Senate, the offices designated to provide voter registration 
     assistance were required to be uniformly deemed voter 
     registration agencies under the NVRA. In the conference 
     committee for the NDAA, this requirement was changed from 
     mandatory NVRA designation to giving the Secretaries the 
     option of designating the voter registration offices as NVRA 
     agencies.
       There are good reasons for designating these voting 
     assistance offices as voter registration agencies under the 
     NVRA. Designation provides a minimum, uniform standard by 
     which these offices must provide voter registration 
     assistance and ensures such assistance is effective. First, 
     pursuant to Sec. 7(a)(4)(A) of the National Voter 
     Registration Act, such offices must provide mail voter 
     registration forms, assistance in completing voter 
     registration application forms, and acceptance of such forms 
     for transmittal to State officials. The Federal postcard 
     application can be used for this purpose because it is an 
     acceptable voter registration form under the NVRA. Second, 
     under Sec. 7(d), accepted registration forms have to be 
     transmitted to State officials within 10 days of acceptance, 
     or if accepted, within 5 days before the last day for 
     registration to vote in an election, not later than 5 days 
     after the date of acceptance. Furthermore, any individuals 
     providing registration assistance in such an office are 
     prohibited from doing the following: seeking to influence an 
     applicant's political preference or party allegiance; 
     displaying any political preference or party allegiance; 
     making any statement to the applicant that would discourage 
     registration; or making any statements with the purpose or 
     effect of leading the applicant to believe that a decision to 
     register has any bearing on other services provided at that 
     office. The NVRA sets a uniform standard by which these 
     offices must provide voter registration by ensuring an 
     expansive provision of voter registration assistance and 
     protecting against inadequate assistance and deficiencies in 
     registration services. Without the opportunity or ability to 
     register in an effective way, our military cannot vote.
       While some have expressed concern with requiring DOD to run 
     an NVRA voter registration agency, this is not a new role for 
     the Department of Defense. The Department is already 
     responsible, and has been for well over a decade, for 
     administering the NVRA at designated offices. More than 6,000 
     military recruitment offices are currently required to 
     provide information, registration assistance, and 
     opportunities to register to vote in conformance with the 
     NVRA. Further, these offices would only be required to 
     provide the necessary voting assistance to individuals who 
     are seeking other appropriate services at the military 
     recruitment offices and not to any person who may happen to 
     walk in and request it.
       Nor are these offices required to operate as stand-alone 
     voter registration agencies. Similar to other State 
     government agencies operating NVRA-designated voter 
     registration agencies, such as State social service offices, 
     Departments of Motor Vehicles, and the like, DOD can provide 
     voter registration services in offices that have a different 
     primary function such as pay, personnel, and identification 
     offices.
       Following the passage of the MOVE Act, it is notable that 
     Chairman Schumer and Senator Cornyn sent a letter on December 
     4, 2009 to Secretary Gates requesting that he make the 
     determination, which he authorized to do under the NVRA, that 
     the Department of Defense would be designated as a ``voter 
     registration agency'' under the Act. In a letter back to 
     Senators Schumer and Cornyn, dated December 16, 2009, the 
     Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn, III, agreed to 
     ``designate all military installation voting assistance 
     offices as NVRA agencies.''
       Finally, the Secretary of Defense is required to prescribe 
     regulations relating to the administration of this section, 
     which must be prescribed and implemented by the November 2010 
     Federal elections.
     Section 584. Development of standards for reporting and 
         storing certain data.
       This section amends the UOCAVA statute to direct the 
     Presidential designee to work with the Election Assistance 
     Commission and the chief State election official of each 
     State to develop standards for reporting data on the number 
     of absentee ballots transmitted to and received from overseas 
     voters, as well as other data the Presidential designee 
     determines to be appropriate. States are required to report 
     this data as the Presidential designee, in accordance with 
     the standards developed by the Presidential designee under 
     this section. The Presidential designee is directed to store 
     such data, and should make that data publically available as 
     appropriate under the law.
     Section 585. Repeal of provisions relating to use of single 
         application for all subsequent elections.
       This section repeals Sec. 104(a)--Sec. 104(d) of the UOCAVA 
     statute. These provisions required States, once they 
     processed an official post card form received by military and 
     overseas voters, to send an absentee ballot to that voter for 
     each Federal election held in the State through the next two 
     regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office, 
     provided the voter indicated he/she wished the State to do 
     so. It has been reported by State and local officials that 
     this section of UOCAVA has led to inefficiency as blank 
     absentee ballots are sent to voters who have moved or are no 
     longer registered in the same location where they originally 
     registered. Because some military and overseas voters in 
     particular tend to be highly mobile, it is reported that this 
     provision was difficult to implement effectively. The 
     Committee responded by eliminating this federal

[[Page 9770]]

     mandate. States, however, are free to continue absentee 
     programs that they find effective and convenient for voters, 
     whether they be domestic or overseas voters.
     Section 586. Reporting requirements.
       This section amends UOCAVA to include additional 
     requirements for reporting information to the Congressional 
     committees of jurisdiction, including the Senate Committee on 
     Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and 
     the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the 
     House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on 
     Armed Services, and the House Administration Committees.
       The first provision is a requirement for the Presidential 
     designee to submit a report to these committees not later 
     than 180 days after the enactment of the MOVE Act. The report 
     is to include (a) the status of the implementation of the 
     procedures on collection and delivery of absentee ballots 
     from overseas military personnel, including specific steps 
     taken in preparation for the November 2010 general election; 
     and (b) an assessment of the Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) 
     Program of the Department of Defense, including an evaluation 
     of effectiveness, an inventory and full explanation of any 
     programmatic failures, and a description of any new programs 
     to replace or supplement existing efforts.
       The Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) program is administered 
     by the Department of Defense to provide military personnel 
     with person-to-person guidance in understanding absentee 
     voting procedures and helping overseas military personnel 
     with the absentee voting process. However, the Rules 
     Committee gathered evidence during the drafting of this 
     legislation indicating the need for improvements in the VAO 
     program. Tom Tarantino, Legislative Associate with Iraq and 
     Afghanistan Veterans of America, submitted written testimony 
     that he had been poorly trained when he served as a VAO. A 
     report from the Department of Defense Inspector General 
     revealed that in 2004, voting assistance officers made 
     contact with only 40%-50% of military voters. Also, it was 
     made known to the Rules Committee that serving as a VAO is 
     often seen as a low-level military assignment, so it is not 
     given much priority in practice. The reporting requirements 
     established under this section will provide the new FVAP 
     chief with the time to assess existing programs and suggest 
     improvements, all with the goal of providing more overseas 
     and military voters with the information and support 
     necessary for them to exercise their right to vote.
       The second reporting requirement is an annual report to 
     Congress, due no later than March 31 of each year. In this 
     report, the Presidential designee must include the following: 
     (a) an assessment of the effectiveness of the FVAP program, 
     including an examination on the effectiveness of the new 
     responsibilities established by the MOVE Act; (b) an 
     assessment of voter registration and participation by 
     overseas military voters; (c) an assessment of registration 
     and participation by non-military overseas absentee voters; 
     and (d) a description of cooperative efforts between State 
     and Federal officials. The report should also include a 
     description of the voter registration assistance provided by 
     offices designated on military installations utilized by 
     servicemembers and a description of the specific programs 
     implemented by each military department of the Armed Forces 
     to designate offices and provide assistance. Finally, the 
     report should include the number of uniformed services 
     members utilizing voter registration assistance at the 
     designated offices.
       When the annual report is issued in years following a 
     general election for Federal office, it should include a 
     description of the procedures utilized for collecting and 
     delivering marked absentee ballots, noting how many such 
     ballots were collected and delivered, how many were not 
     delivered in time before the closing of polls on Election 
     Day, and the reasons for non-delivery.
       These reporting requirements are a direct consequence of 
     the interest of Congress in initial compliance with the MOVE 
     Act and with its routine implementation over time. These 
     reports will provide a key indicator of how effective 
     absentee voting procedures are for overseas Americans in case 
     additional reform is needed in the future.
     Section 587. Annual report on enforcement.
       This section amends the UOCAVA statute to require the 
     Attorney General to send a report to Congress no later than 
     December 31 of each year regarding what actions the 
     Department of Justice has taken to enforce UOCAVA and the 
     MOVE Act amendments to UOCAVA.
       Since UOCAVA's passage in 1987, the Justice Department has 
     filed 35 compliance suits against the States. Congress should 
     be updated on a regular basis on efforts made to comply with 
     federal military and overseas voting statutes. These reports 
     will provide the Rules Committee and other Congressional 
     committees with a key tool for oversight, in anticipation of 
     the Justice Department playing a key role in overseeing the 
     implementation and enforcement of the MOVE Act.
     Section 588. Requirements payments.
       This section amends the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 
     2002 to establish a new funding authorization, in addition to 
     the funding authorizations already in place under HAVA, 
     intended to be used only to meet the new requirements under 
     UOCAVA imposed as a result of the provisions of and 
     amendments made by MOVE. The language of the MOVE Act 
     indicates that separate from a HAVA requirements payment; 
     Congress has authorized, and can specifically appropriate 
     funds for requirements payments ``appropriated pursuant to 
     the authorization under section 257(a)(4) only to meet the 
     requirements under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
     Absentee Voting Act imposed as a result of the provisions of 
     and amendments made by the Military and Overseas Voter 
     Empowerment Act.'' The appropriation would specifically 
     reference a MOVE requirements payment. That MOVE requirements 
     payment can be used only to meet the requirements of the MOVE 
     Act. Nothing in this section impacts the ability of States to 
     receive and spend funds on the traditional HAVA requirements 
     payment program.
       States must describe in their State plan how they will 
     comply with the provisions and requirements of and amendments 
     made by MOVE. Under amendments made in conference committee, 
     chief State election officials may access MOVE requirements 
     payments without providing the 5% match upfront. This section 
     was amended in contemplation of providing funding for those 
     States whose legislatures do not meet on an annual basis.
       Further, States may choose to use the original funding 
     authorizations under HAVA, those adopted as part of the 
     original HAVA statute, to fund MOVE related compliance 
     efforts so long as the State meets all of its other 
     obligations under HAVA. The provisions of the MOVE Act can 
     certainly be considered an activity ``to improve the 
     administration of elections for Federal office'' under the 
     HAVA requirements payments language.
     Section 589. Technology pilot program.
       This section gives the Presidential designee the authority 
     to establish one or more pilot programs under which new 
     election technologies can be tested for the benefit of 
     military and overseas voters under the UOCAVA statute. The 
     conduct of the program will be at the discretion of the 
     Presidential designee and shall not conflict with any 
     existing laws, regulations, or procedures.
       Mindful of security concerns, the Rules Committee included 
     several items for the Presidential designee to consider in 
     crafting this pilot program. These include transmitting 
     electronic information across military networks, 
     cryptographic voting systems, the transmission of ballot 
     representations and scanned pictures of ballots in a secure 
     manner, the utilization of voting stations at military bases, 
     and document delivery and upload systems. There may be many 
     positive developments made by DOD pilot programs that can 
     assist in expedited voting procedures for military and 
     overseas voters. Security and privacy, of course, are 
     essential components to any pilot program.
       Under this section, the Presidential designee is required 
     to submit to Congress reports on the progress of any such 
     pilot programs, including recommendations for additional 
     programs and any legislative or administrative action deemed 
     appropriate.
       This section directs the Election Assistance Commission 
     (EAC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
     (NIST) at the Department of Commerce to work with the 
     Presidential designee in the creation and support of such 
     pilot programs. The bill requires the EAC and NIST to provide 
     the Presidential designee with ``best practices or 
     standards'' regarding electronic absentee voting guidelines. 
     In particular, the MOVE Act directs the EAC and the NIST to 
     work to develop best practices which conform with the 
     electronic absentee voting guidelines established under the 
     first sentence of section 1604(a)(2) of the National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. 107-107), as 
     amended by Sec. 507 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (P.L. 108-375). The 
     Committee staff contemplates that NIST will be helpful in 
     addressing the election integrity and security concerns 
     involved in developing electronic voting systems, as 
     illustrated by NIST report entitled ``Threat Analysis on 
     UOCAVA Voting Systems'' of December 2008 (NISTIR 7551).
       This section also directs that, if the EAC has not 
     established electronic absentee voting guidelines by not 
     later than 180 days after enactment of the MOVE Act, then the 
     EAC is to submit to Congress a report detailing why it has 
     not done so, a timeline for the establishment of such 
     guidelines, and a detailed accounting of its actions in 
     developing such guidelines. This should provide to Congress 
     and the public a roadmap on progress made, as well as the 
     next steps the EAC plans to take.

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