[House Report 111-281]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 111-281
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MILITARY VOTING PROTECTION ACT OF 2009
_______
October 1, 2009.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, from the Committee on House Administration,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2393]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2393) to amend the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act to improve procedures for the
collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of absent
overseas uniformed services voters, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Legislation
As the Committee examines the successes and failures of the
voting process, the obstacles facing military personnel serving
overseas who seek to vote are disturbingly evident and require
prompt attention. Our voting procedures continue to fail
thousands of overseas military personnel who are serving their
country in defense of the same democratic rights they are too
often denied in practice.
H.R. 2393, the Military Voting Protection Act, aims to
address the challenge of timely ballot transmission to military
personnel serving overseas. Military voters and many citizens
living abroad do not have the opportunity to vote because of
the time it takes to request, receive, and return absentee
ballots. According to Pew Center on the States 2009 report
entitled ``No Time to Vote, more than one-third of states are
either placing citizens living abroad at high risk of not
allowing enough time or simply not providing them with enough
time to vote.\1\ The purpose of H.R. 2393 is to establish a
system of expedited ballot delivery to ensure that overseas
service members who submit their completed ballots up to four
days before the date of a federal election can be confident the
ballot will reach its destination by election day. This
expedited delivery should enable thousands of ballots that
might otherwise go uncounted today to be tallied.
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\1\``No Time To Vote,'' PEW Center on the States: January 2009.
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Last November, millions of Americans participated in an
historic election with broad voter participation. Yet our
troops fighting overseas, protecting our right to participate
in the electoral process, are continually denied their right to
vote. Since the enactment of the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) in 1986, which provided
overseas voters with back-up federal write-in absentee ballots,
there have been many reports detailing the disenfranchisement
of military personnel due to inadequate ballot delivery
methods.
The Pew Center on the States Military and Overseas
Citizen Voting Project found that ``by almost every measure,
military and overseas voter participation in the 2006 federal
elections was substantially lower than the general
population.'' Voter turnout was only 20.4% for the military
population, compared to the 39.8% of the general population
which voted.
According to the Pew Report (citing Table 22 of
the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's 2007 UOCAVA Survey
Report) 85.8% of absentee ballots requested by the general
population in 2006 were cast. But of the absentee ballots
requested by military personnel, only 26.5% were actually cast.
Other findings from the October 2005 report of the
Federal Voting Assistance Program indicate that, of the
military personnel who said they did not vote in 2004, 30% did
not vote because their ballots never arrived or arrived too
late, and 19% did not know how to get an absentee ballot or
found the process too complicated.
According to Pew's 2009 report entitled ``No Time
to Vote,'' 16 states and the District of Columbia do not allow
enough time to vote for military men and women stationed
overseas.\2\ These states send out their absentee ballots after
the date necessary for military voters to meet all the required
deadlines.
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\2\The report states that the following jurisdictions do not allow
sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to successfully cast their ballot:
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
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The Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 is a first step
toward addressing the impediments to full voting participation
for our nation's armed forces. The bill attempts to address the
widely chronicled challenges of inconsistent and untimely
ballot transmission. Specifically, this legislation will
establish procedures for the collection, return transportation,
and tracking of marked absentee ballots of our troops serving
overseas. However, the U.S. Postal Service and Military Postal
Service raised a few comments and concerns about providing a
feasible timeline for expedited transmission and tracking.
Further, numerous stakeholders and organizations that serve
UOCAVA voters emphasize the need to facilitate voting for all
citizens living and voting abroad.
Section-by-Section Summary of Legislation
Section 1.--Short Title: the ``Military Voting Protection Act of 2009''
Section 2.--Findings
Section 3.--Collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of
overseas uniformed services voters
The Presidential designee (FVAP) shall establish
procedures for collecting marked absentee ballots.
Requires that marked ballots collected before the
deadline established in this legislation be distributed to the
proper election officials prior to the closing of polls on the
date of the election.
Requires the use of United States Postal Service
express mail services to deliver ballots.
Establishes noon on the fourth day preceding the
date of the election as the deadline for receiving ballots to
be returned using the program.
Allows the Presidential designee to pick an
alternate deadline to ensure timely delivery of ballots if it
is deemed that the deadline is insufficient for a locale.
A tracking system will be set up to let
individuals track their ballots by Internet, phone, or other
methods.
Requires that, not later than 180 days after the
election, FVAP must submit a report to the appropriate
committees on the utilization of the procedures during the
previous election.
Authorizes such sums as may be necessary to carry
out the section.
The provisions of this bill shall apply to the
November 2010 general election and each succeeding election for
Federal office.
Section 4.--Protecting voter privacy and secrecy of absentee ballots
FVAP will take precautions to protect the privacy
and contents of absentee ballots.
Committee Consideration of the Legislation
INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL
On March 19, 2009, Mr. McCarthy of California, along with
four Members of the House, introduced H.R. 2393, which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration. As of the
date of the markup, forty members were cosponsors of the bill.
HEARINGS
On March 26, 2009, the Committee on House Administration
Subcommittee on Elections held a hearing entitled ``The 2008
Election: A Look Back on What Went Right and Wrong.'' The
following Members were present at the hearing: Subcommittee on
Elections Chair Zoe Lofgren, Representative Charles A.
Gonzalez, Representative Artur Davis, Representative Kevin
McCarthy, and Representative Gregg Harper.
Panel One Witnesses:
1. The Honorable Gineen Beach--Chairwoman, U.S. Election
Assistance Commission
2. The Honorable Gracia Hillman--Vice-Chairwoman, U.S.
Election Assistance Commission
3. Mr. George Gilbert--Director, Guilford County Board of
Elections, North Carolina
4. Mr. Keith Cunningham--Director, Allen County Board of
Elections, Ohio
Panel Two Witnesses:
1. Ms. Melanie Campbell--Executive Director, National
Coalition on Black Civic Participation
2. Ms. Patty Ferguson Bohnee--Native Vote Election
Protection Coordinator, National Congress of American Indians
3. Mr. Arturo Vargas--Executive Director, National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
4. Mr. Eric Eversole--Former Attorney, Civil Rights
Division, U.S. Department of Justice
5. Mr. Doug Chapin--Director, Election Initiatives, Pew
Center on the States
On May 21, 2009, the Committee on House Administration
Subcommittee on Elections held a hearing entitled ``Military
and Overseas Voting: Obstacles and Potential Solutions.'' The
following Members were present at the hearing: Subcommittee on
Elections Chair Zoe Lofgren, Representative Susan Davis,
Representative Kevin McCarthy, and Representative Gregg Harper.
Panel Witnesses:
1. The Honorable Gail McGinn--Acting Undersecretary for
Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense
2. Captain Patricia Garcia--Voting Assistance Officer,
United States Air Force
3. Mr. Rokey Suleman--General Registrar, Fairfax County,
Virginia
4. Ms. Jessie Jane Duff--Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine
Corps (Ret)
MARKUP
On June 10, 2009, the Committee met to mark up H.R. 2393.
The Committee ordered H.R. 2393 reported favorably, by voice
vote. A quorum was present.
Matters Required Under the Rules of the House
COMMITTEE RECORD VOTES
Clause 3(b) of House rule XIII requires the results of each
record vote on an amendment or motion to report, together with
the names of those voting for and against, to be printed in the
committee report. There were no recorded votes taken on H.R.
2393.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
General Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states, with respect to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that
the goal and objective of H.R. 2393 is to improve and expedite
the absentee voting process for military voters.
Constitutional Authority
In compliance with clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the
Committee states that Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution grants
Congress the authority to make laws governing the time, place
and manner of holding Federal elections.
Federal Mandates
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act requires a
committee report on any public bill or joint resolution that
includes a federal mandate to include specific information
about such mandates. The Committee states that H.R. 2393 does
not include federal mandates.
Preemption Clarification
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act requires a
committee report on any public bill or joint resolution to
include a statement on the extent to which the measure is
intended to preempt state or local law. The Committee states
that H.R. 2392 is not intended to preempt any state or local
law.
Earmark Identification
In response to the requirements of clause 9 of rule XXI,
the Committee reports that H.R. 2393 does not include any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, the following estimate and comparison
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 14, 2009.
Hon. Robert A. Brady,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2393, the Military
Voting Protection Act of 2009.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jason
Wheelock.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2393--Military Voting Protection Act of 2009
H.R. 2393 would amend the Uniformed Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act to require the Department of Defense (DoD)
to collect and deliver absentee ballots of personnel of the
uniformed services deployed or stationed overseas. The bill
would affect ballots cast in regularly scheduled general
elections for federal office and would require DoD to use the
express mail service of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver such
ballots.
The Postal Service estimates it would charge DoD about
$13.50 per ballot to ship the ballots back to the United
States. Based upon data from the Defense Manpower Data Center
on the number of military personnel deployed or stationed
overseas as of March 2009--the last report currently
available--and data from the U.S. Census Bureau on voting
participation of the U.S. population, CBO estimates that
approximately 165,000 and 275,000 ballots would be shipped by
express mail in the 2010 and 2012 elections, respectively.
Based upon those factors, and accounting for inflation, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would cost approximately
$2 million in fiscal year 2011 and $4 million in fiscal year
2013, assuming the appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Section 4 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act excludes from
the application of that act any legislative provisions that
enforce the constitutional rights of individuals. CBO has
determined that H.R. 2393 would fall within that exclusion
because it would protect individuals' voting rights. Therefore,
we have not reviewed the bill for mandates.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jason Wheelock.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--REGISTRATION AND VOTING BY ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS
AND OVERSEAS VOTERS IN ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE
SEC. 101. FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) * * *
(b) Duties of Presidential Designee.--The Presidential
designee shall--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(6) not later than the end of each year after a
Presidential election year, transmit to the President
and the Congress a report on the effectiveness of
assistance under this title, including a statistical
analysis of uniformed services voter participation, a
separate statistical analysis of overseas nonmilitary
participation, and a description of State-Federal
cooperation; [and]
(7) prescribe a standard oath for use with any
document under this title affirming that a material
misstatement of fact in the completion of such a
document may constitute grounds for a conviction for
perjury[.];
(8) carry out section 103A with respect to the
collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots of
absent overseas uniformed services voters in elections
for Federal office; and
(9) to the greatest extent practicable, take such
actions as may be required to ensure that absent
uniformed services voters who cast absentee ballots at
locations or facilities under the Presidential
designee's jurisdiction are able to do so in a private
and independent manner, and take such actions as may be
required to protect the privacy of the contents of
absentee ballots cast by absent uniformed services
voters and overseas voters while such ballots are in
the Presidential designee's possession or control.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 102. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) In General.--Each State shall--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) use the official post card form (prescribed under
section 101) for simultaneous voter registration
application and absentee ballot application; [and]
(5) if the State requires an oath or affirmation to
accompany any document under this title, use the
standard oath prescribed by the Presidential designee
under section 101(b)(7)[.]; and
(6) carry out section 103A(b)(2) with respect to the
processing and acceptance of marked absentee ballots of
absent overseas uniformed services voters.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 103A. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF MARKED ABSENTEE
BALLOTS OF ABSENT OVERSEAS UNIFORMED SERVICES
VOTERS.
(a) Collection.--The Presidential designee shall establish
procedures for collecting marked absentee ballots of absent
overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled
general elections for Federal office, including absentee
ballots prepared by States and the Federal write-in absentee
ballot prescribed under section 103, and for delivering the
ballots to the appropriate election officials.
(b) Ensuring Delivery Prior to Closing of Polls.--
(1) In general.--Under the procedures established
under this section, the Presidential designee shall
ensure that any marked absentee ballot for a regularly
scheduled general election for Federal office which is
collected prior to the deadline described in paragraph
(3) is delivered to the appropriate election official
in a State prior to the time established by the State
for the closing of the polls on the date of the
election.
(2) Utilization of express mail delivery services.--
The Presidential designee shall carry out this section
by utilizing the express mail delivery services of the
United States Postal Service.
(3) Deadline described.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the deadline described in
this paragraph is noon (in the location in
which the ballot is collected) on the fourth
day preceding the date of the election.
(B) Authority to establish alternative
deadline for certain locations.--If the
Presidential designee determines that the
deadline described in subparagraph (A) is not
sufficient to ensure timely delivery of the
ballot under paragraph (1) with respect to a
particular location because of remoteness or
other factors, the Presidential designee may
establish as an alternative deadline for that
location the latest date occurring prior to the
deadline described in subparagraph (A) which is
sufficient to ensure timely delivery of the
ballot under paragraph (1).
(c) Tracking Mechanism.--Under the procedures established
under this section, the Presidential designee, working in
conjunction with the United States Postal Service, shall
implement procedures to enable any individual whose marked
absentee ballot for a regularly scheduled general election for
Federal office is collected by the Presidential designee to
determine whether the ballot has been delivered to the
appropriate election official, using the Internet, an automated
telephone system, or such other methods as the Presidential
designee may provide.
(d) Outreach for Absent Overseas Uniformed Services Voters on
Procedures.--The Presidential designee shall take appropriate
actions to inform individuals who are anticipated to be absent
overseas uniformed services voters in a regularly scheduled
general election for Federal office to which this section
applies of the procedures for the collection and delivery of
marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this section,
including the manner in which such voters may utilize such
procedures for the submittal of marked absentee ballots in the
election.
(e) Reports on Utilization of Procedures.--
(1) Reports required.--Not later than 180 days after
each regularly scheduled general election for Federal
office to which this section applies, the Presidential
designee shall submit to the relevant committees of
Congress a report on the utilization of the procedures
for the collection and delivery of marked absentee
ballots established pursuant to this section during
such general election.
(2) Elements.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall
include, for the general election covered by such
report, a description of the utilization of the
procedures described in that paragraph during such
general election, including the number of marked
absentee ballots collected and delivered under such
procedures and the number of such ballots which were
not delivered by the time of the closing of the polls
on the date of the election (and the reasons therefor).
(3) Relevant committees of congress defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``relevant committees of
Congress'' means--
(A) the Committees on Appropriations, Armed
Services, and Rules and Administration of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committees on Appropriations, Armed
Services, and House Administration of the House
of Representatives.
(f) Absent Overseas Uniformed Services Voter Defined.--In
this section, the term ``absent overseas uniformed services
voter'' means an overseas voter described in section 107(5)(A).
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Presidential designee such sums as may
be necessary to carry out this section.
(h) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to
the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office
held in November 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal
office.
* * * * * * *