,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hdda ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bb1 #bjbf,mr4 ,casten introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act to require ,states to accept the official post card form prescribed by the ,secretary of ,defense under such ,act when submitted by electronic means1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,military ,voters ,overseas ,technical ,enhancement ,act or the ,military ,,vote ,act4 #b4 ,promoting timely and accurate delivery of post card form and absentee ballots 7a7 ,acceptance of post card form transmitted electronically 7#a7 ,requiring acceptance ,section #ajb7;a77#d7 of the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjb7;a77#d77 is amended to read as follows3 7#d7 use the official post card form prescribed under section #aja for simultaneous voter registration application and absentee ballot application1 and accept such post card form when submitted by electronic means 7defined as submission by electronic mail or submission through an online portal7 or physical means2 4 7#b7 ,grants to ,states to assist in meeting requirement 7,a7 ,grants ,beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,presidential designee under section #aja7;a7 of the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcja7;a77 shall make a grant to a ,state to assist the ,state in complying with the requirement under section #ajb7;a77#d7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjb7;a77#d771 as amended by paragraph 7#a71 to accept the official post card form prescribed under section #aja of such ,act when the form is submitted by electronic mail or through an online portal4 7,b7 ,requirements for ,states ,the ,presidential designee shall make a grant to a ,state under this paragraph only if the ,state provides to the ,secretary the following information and assurances3 7i7 ,a certification that the ,state is unable to comply with the requirement described in subparagraph 7,a74 7ii7 ,a description of the ,state's existing process for receiving the official post card form described in subparagraph 7,a74 7iii7 ,the ,state's plan to implement the means necessary to comply with such requirement1 including a detailed breakdown of the costs the ,state will incur4 7iv7 ,any further relevant information that the ,secretary may request4 7,c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated #dj1jjj1jjj to carry out this paragraph4 7,d7 ,state defined ,in this paragraph1 the term ,state means each ,state1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,american ,samoa1 ,guam1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7b7 ,electronic transmission of absentee ballots ,section #ajb7;f77#b7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjb7;f77#b77 is amended to read as follows3 7#b7 ,transmission if no preference indicated ,if an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter does not designate a preference under paragraph 7#a77;,b7-- 7,a7 the ,state shall transmit the ballot electronically2 or 7,b7 if the ,state lacks sufficient information to transmit the ballot electronically1 the ,state shall transmit the ballot by any delivery method allowable in accordance with applicable ,state law4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,this section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for ,federal office held in ,november #bjbf and each succeeding election for ,federal office4 #c4 ,use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections 7a7 ,in general ,section #ajd of the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjf7 is amended to read as follows3 #ajd4 ,treatment of ballot requests 7a7 ,use of application by absent uniformed services and overseas voters for subsequent elections 7#a7 ,in general ,if a ,state accepts and processes an official post card form 7prescribed under section #aja7 submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter for simultaneous voter registration and absentee ballot application 7in accordance with section #ajb7;a77#d77 and the voter requests that the application be considered an application for an absentee ballot for each subsequent election for ,federal office held in the ,state1 the ,state shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter-- 7,a7 in the case of a voter who requests the ballot in paper form1 for not fewer than the next #b such subsequent elections2 or 7,b7 in the case of a voter who receives the ballot in electronic form1 for each such subsequent election4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,paragraph 7#a7 shall not apply with respect to a voter if-- 7,a7 the voter's registration is cancelled by the ,state2 7,b7 the ,state obtains evidence that the voter is no longer eligible to register to vote or vote as an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter2 or 7,c7 the voter requests that the ,state no longer provide the voter with an absentee ballot under this subsection4 7b7 ,prohibition of refusal of application on grounds of early submission ,a ,state may not refuse to accept or to process1 with respect to any election for ,federal office1 any otherwise valid voter registration application or absentee ballot application 7including the post card form prescribed under section #aja7 submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter on the grounds that the voter submitted the application before the first date on which the ,state otherwise accepts or processes such applications for that election which are submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the uniformed services or overseas citizens4 4 7b7 ,conforming revision to post card form ,section #aja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcja7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b77#b71 by striking the semicolon and inserting 1 in accordance with subsection 7c722 7#b7 by redesignating subsections 7b7 and 7c7 as subsections 7c7 and 7d72 and 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7a7 the following new subsection3 7c7 ,use of official post card form for registration for subsequent elections ,the ,presidential designee shall ensure that the official post card form prescribed under subsection 7b77#b7 enables a voter using the form to request an absentee ballot for subsequent elections for ,federal office held in a ,state1 as provided under section #ajd4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this subsection shall apply with respect to voter registration and absentee ballot applications which are submitted to a ,state or local election official on or after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,evaluation of accuracy and timeliness of voter registration information provided to absent uniformed services voters upon transfer to new duty station ,section #aje;,a of the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcjh7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7c7 as subsection 7d72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following new subsection3 7c7 ,adequacy of voter registration information provided to members upon transfer to new duty station ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this subsection1 the ,presidential designee shall submit to the ,president and the relevant congressional committees an evaluation of whether the information on voter registration which is included in the change of base packet provided to absent uniformed services voters who are transferred to new duty stations provides timely and accurate information on how such voters may register to vote in elections for ,federal office4 4 #e4 ,study and report on feasibility of automatic voter registration 7a7 ,study ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall conduct a study of the feasibility of the creation of a system of automatic voter registration for members of the uniformed services upon enlistment or receiving commission1 as well as the creation of a system to automatically update the address of absent members of the uniformed services for voter registration purposes upon any change of address for such member1 including an assessment of the feasibility and costs of-- 7#a7 using information already collected as part of the enlistment or commission process for purposes of voter registration1 including whether such information is sufficient for ,states to register an individual to vote1 and if not1 what other information would need to be collected as part of the enlistment and commission process to enable this process2 7#b7 using information already collected as part of the enlistment or commission process for purposes of updating voter registration information for existing registrants1 including whether such information is sufficient for ,states to update an existing registration1 and if not1 what other information would need to be collected as part of the enlistment or commission process to enable this process2 and 7#c7 electronically transmitting such voter registration information to chief ,state election officials4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the ,committees on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and ,house of ,representatives1 and make publicly available1 a report on the study conducted under subsection 7a74 #f4 ,no effect on ability to register or revise registration information directly ,nothing in this ,act or any amendment made by this ,act shall be construed to limit the ability of a member of the ,armed ,forces to register to vote in elections for ,federal office directly with a ,state election official1 or to revise the member's voter registration information1 including the member's place of residence1 directly with a ,state election official4