NEW LAW WILL IMPROVE ABILITY OF SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN TO VOTE
Cochran Cosponsored Senate Measure to Reform Military & Overseas Voting Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Upon the President’s signing into law of a defense policy measure, reforms supported by U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) were enacted to make it easier for military personnel and Americans living overseas to participate in U.S. elections.
The FY2010 Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Wednesday, includes provisions based on the Military Overseas Voter Empowerment Act that Cochran cosponsored earlier this year.
“The registration and balloting process can be very cumbersome for those in the military and this inhibits their participation. Enacting these reforms should make it easier for our men and women in uniform to be part of the American democratic process,” said Cochran, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
With the new law, Congress has amended the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to require the Department of Defense and states to take certain actions to improve voter participation among members of the military.
Newly enacted provisions amend UOCAVA by, among other things:
- Directing the Defense Department to implement procedures to increase voter participation among military personnel and their dependents;
- Requiring states to implement and maintain an electronic and fax system for sending voter registration and absentee ballot applications; and
- Requiring states to provide military voters with ballots no later than 45 days before an election, and establishing a 10-day post-election grace period for receiving ballots.
During its consideration of the bill, the Senate Rules Committee was informed that total registration among U.S. military personnel in 2006 was 64.8 percent, compared to an 83.8 percent registration rate for the general American voting age population. Cochran also serves on the Rules Committee.
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