To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require States which fail to transmit validly requested absentee ballots in an election for Federal office to absent uniformed services voters within the deadline established under the Act to delay certifying the results of the election, to establish a private right of action to enforce the requirements of such Act, and for other purposes.
One Moment Please
Loading Bill Text
Rollover any line of text to comment and/or link to it.
To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require States which fail to transmit validly requested absentee ballots in an election for Federal office to absent uniformed services voters within the deadline established under the Act to delay certifying the results of the election, to establish a private right of action to enforce the requirements of such Act, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require States which fail to transmit validly requested absentee ballots in an election for Federal office to absent uniformed services voters within the deadline established under the Act to delay certifying the results of the election, to establish a private right of action to enforce the requirements of such Act, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES FAILING TO MEET DEADLINE FOR TRANSMITTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS TO ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS TO DELAY CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION.
(a) Delay in Certification of Results of Elections- Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(j) Delay in Certification of Results of Elections in States Failing To Meet Deadline for Transmitting Absentee Ballots to Absent Uniformed Services Voters-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(1) IN GENERAL- If a State does not transmit a validly requested absentee ballot with respect to an election to an absent uniformed services voter by the deadline required under subsection (a)(8)(A), the State shall delay the certification of the results of the election by the number of days by which the State missed such deadline with respect to the voter.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ELECTIONS SUBJECT TO WAIVER- Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to any election for which a waiver is approved under subsection (g).’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
(a) In General- Section 105 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(b) Private Right of Action- A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for such declaratory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(c) Attorney’s Fees- In a civil action under this section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other than the United States) reasonable attorney’s fees, including litigation expenses, and costs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT- Not later than December 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress an annual report on any civil action brought by the Attorney General under subsection (a) during the preceding year or any civil action brought by a private party under subsection (b) in which the Attorney General intervened.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(2) REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT- Not later than July 1 of each year in which a regularly scheduled general election for Federal office is held, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the number of attorneys and other staff within the Department of Justice assigned to enforce this Act, as well as the Attorney General’s plan to detect noncompliance by State and local election officials with the requirements of this Act.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by this section shall apply with respect to alleged violations occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
SEC. 4. CENTRALIZED FORWARDING DATABASE FOR DELIVERING ELECTION MATERIAL TO DEMOBILIZED MEMBERS OF RESERVE AND NATIONAL GUARD.
(a) Establishment and Operation- Section 103B(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-2b(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
‘(3) Establish and operate a centralized mail forwarding database through which balloting materials for a member of a reserve component who is called or ordered to active duty are forwarded to the member’s correct mailing address after the member is released from active duty.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to balloting materials prepared for any election occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink
OpenCongress is a free and open-source project of the Participatory Politics Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to increase civic engagement. The non-profit Sunlight Foundation is the Founding and Primary Supporter of OpenCongress.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.6594 as Introduced in House Military Ballot Integrity Act of 2012
