,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #acig ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #i1 #bjai,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 and ,mr4 ,bennet7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb to provide for a national ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use4 #a4 ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,in general ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle3 ,c ,additional requirements #cba4 ,use of national ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use 7a7 ,in general ,each ,state shall permit qualified individuals to use the national ,federal write-in absentee ballot prescribed by the ,election ,assistance ,commission under section #bih to cast a vote in any election for ,federal office4 7b7 ,qualified individual ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the term qualified individual means any individual who is otherwise qualified to vote in a ,federal election in a ,state and who-- 7,a7 resides in an area of a ,state with respect to which an emergency has been declared by the ,governor of the ,state 7with respect to any portion of the ,state7 due to a natural disaster1 including severe weather2 7,b7 expects to be absent from such individual's jurisdiction on the day of the election for ,federal office due to professional or volunteer service in response to a natural disaster or emergency as so declared2 7,c7 expects to be hospitalized on the day of the election for ,federal office2 or 7,d7 7i7 has requested an absentee ballot from the ,state or jurisdiction where such individual is registered to vote2 and 7ii7 has not received such absentee ballot before a date on which such individual can return such ballot in time to be counted in the election4 7#b7 ,coordination with ,federal write-in ballot for absent uniformed services and overseas voters ,the term qualified individual shall not include an individual who-- 7,a7 is an absent uniformed services voter 7as defined in section #ajg7a7 of the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcaj7a777 or an overseas voter 7as defined in section #ajg7e7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcaj7e7772 and 7,b7 who is entitled to vote using the ,federal write-in absentee ballot developed under section #ajc of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjc74 7c7 ,submission and processing 7#a7 ,in general ,except as otherwise provided in this section1 a national ,federal write-in absentee ballot to which this section applies shall be submitted and processed in the manner provided by law for absentee ballots in the ,state involved4 7#b7 ,deadline ,an otherwise eligible national ,federal write-in absentee ballot to which this section applies shall be counted if postmarked or signed before the close of the polls on election day and received by the appropriate ,state election official on or before the day on which final vote totals are required by law to be submitted to the ,state for an official canvass of the election4 7d7 ,special rules ,the following rules shall apply with respect to national ,federal write-in absentee ballots to which this section applies3 7#a7 ,in completing the ballot1 the voter may designate a candidate by writing in the name of the candidate or by writing in the name of a political party 7in which case the ballot shall be counted for the candidate of that political party74 7#b7 ,in the case of the offices of ,president and ,vice ,president1 a vote for a named candidate or a vote by writing in the name of a political party shall be counted as a vote for the electors supporting the candidate involved4 7#c7 ,any abbreviation1 misspelling1 or other minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate or a political party shall be disregarded in determining the validity of the ballot4 7e7 ,prohibiting refusal ,to accept ballot for failure ,to meet certain requirements ,a ,state shall not refuse to accept and process any otherwise valid ,federal write-in absentee ballot submitted in any manner by a qualified individual solely on the basis of the following3 7#a7 ,notarization requirements4 7#b7 ,restrictions on paper type1 including weight and size4 7#c7 ,restrictions on envelope type1 including weight and size4 7f7 ,effective date ,each ,state shall be required to comply with the requirements of this section on and after ,january #a1 #bjbj4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendments 7,a7 ,section #dja of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by striking and #cjc and inserting #cjc1 and subtitle ,c4 7,b7 ,the table of contents for such ,act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #cab the following3 ,subtitle ,c--,additional requirements,sec4 #cba4 ,use of national ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use4 4 7b7 ,form of national federal write-,in absentee ballot 7#a7 ,in general ,title ,,ii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjiba7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle3 ,e ,national ,federal write-,in absentee ballot for domestic use #big4 ,national ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use 7a7 ,form of ballot 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall prescribe a national ,federal write-in absentee ballot 7including a secrecy envelope and mailing envelope for such ballot7 for use in elections for ,federal office by qualified individuals 7as defined in section #cba7;b774 7#b7 ,emergency designation ,the ballot prescribed under paragraph 7#a7 shall contain an affirmation1 signed by the person submitting the ballot1 that-- 7,a7 such individual is a qualified individual 7as defined in section #cba7;b772 7,b7 such individual has not and will not cast another ballot with respect to the election for which the national ,federal write-in absentee ballot is cast2 and 7,c7 acknowledging that a material misstatement of fact in completing the ballot may constitute grounds for conviction of perjury4 7b7 ,availability ,the ,commission shall make the ,federal write-in absentee ballot available on the ,internet in a printable format4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendments 7,a7 ,section #bjb of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjibb7 is amended by redesignating paragraphs 7#e7 and 7#f7 as paragraphs 7#f7 and 7#g71 respectively1 and by inserting after paragraph 7#d7 the following new paragraph3 7#e7 carrying out the duties described in subtitle ,e2 4 7,b7 ,the table of contents for such ,act is amended by inserting after the item related to section #bif the following3 ,subtitle ,e--,national ,federal write-,in absentee ballot for domestic use,sec4 #big4 ,national ,federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use4 4