[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 388 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 388
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas members of the Armed Forces and their dependents deserve every
reasonable opportunity to participate in the electoral process given
their daily sacrifices to protect our liberty and freedom;
Whereas Congress enacted the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
in part to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their dependents
and
citizens living overseas are provided with sufficient information,
opportunities, and balloting materials to foster their participation in
Federal elections;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission found that less than 17 percent of
the 6 million citizens eligible under the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act chose to participate in the 2006 general
election;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that of the 48,600
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ballots that were
not counted by States and local jurisdictions in the November 2006
elections, 70 percent were not counted due to incorrect or undeliverable
addresses;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that more than 10
percent of all uncounted military and overseas absentee ballots were
rejected because they were received past the required deadline;
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission further found that more effort needs
to be made by the States and the Department of Defense to ensure that
members of the Armed Forces and their dependents and citizens living
overseas are made fully aware of their voting rights;
Whereas the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the
Federal Voting Assistance Program are required to create and utilize a
Federal Post Card Application that allows members of the Armed Forces
and their dependents and citizens living overseas to use a single
application to register to vote and request an absentee ballot;
Whereas a survey conducted recently by the Inspector General for the Department
of Defense analyzed the effectiveness of the Federal Voting Assistance
Program during the 2006 general election, and found that only 40 percent
of members of the Armed Forces received voting information from the
military and only 33 percent were aware of the Federal Post Card
Application;
Whereas in April 2008 testimony before the Committee on House Administration
revealed that the Department of Defense had not provided all members of
the Armed Forces and their dependents with post card applications by the
January 15, 2008, deadline as required by Department policy, and that
the Department has yet to comply with this requirement; and
Whereas many of Department of Defense's outreach efforts, including its Armed
Forces Voter Week, are scheduled to occur 60 days before the November
2008 election, which may not provide members of the Armed Forces and
their dependents or citizens living overseas with sufficient time to
complete and return the Federal Post Card Applications: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is in the interests of the United States to ensure
that the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Voting Assistance
Program provide members of the Armed Forces and their
dependents and citizens living overseas who are eligible under
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act with
sufficient information regarding opportunities to register to
vote and to request an absentee ballot for elections occurring
in 2008, including the November 2008 general election;
(2) the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Voting
Assistance Program must, on a monthly basis starting September
22, 2008, and continuing on the first of each month through the
November 2008 general election, provide all eligible members of
the Armed Forces and their dependents with an electronic
reminder of the voter registration and absentee ballot process
available under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act, and, as required by Department policy, provide all
members of the Armed Forces and their dependents with an
electronic or paper copy of the Federal Post Card Application,
along with sufficient instruction on completing and returning
the application to the appropriate election official;
(3) State and local election officials should work with the
Federal Voting Assistance Program to develop methods,
consistent with privacy and security, for obtaining updated
addresses and contact information, if possible, for any member
of the Armed Forces or dependent and any citizen living
overseas who has been identified by the State or local election
official as having an undeliverable ballot address;
(4) the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness should report to the Committee on House
Administration of the House of Representatives, the Committee
on Rules and Administration of the Senate, and the Committees
on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and Senate
not later than October 15, 2008, on the efforts made by the
Department of Defense to--
(A) educate members of the Armed Forces and
citizens living overseas on the process of voter
registration and absentee voting in the 2008 general
election,
(B) provide all eligible members of the Armed
Forces and their dependents and citizens living
overseas with the Federal Post Card Application to
register to vote and cast absentee ballots in such
election, and
(C) cooperate effectively with State and local
election officials in their efforts to register these
individuals and distribute and collect their absentee
ballots;
(5) States must redouble their efforts to make sure that
local jurisdictions collect the mandated information for
individuals who are eligible under the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and should work in partnership
with the Federal Government to develop best practices
(including the use of electronic means) for encouraging voting
participation among members of the Armed Forces and their
dependents and citizens living overseas; and
(6) the Department of Defense, the Federal Voting
Assistance Program, the Election Assistance Commission, and
State governments should examine recommendations made by the
Election Assistance Commission in its September 2007 survey
findings regarding the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 17, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 388
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense and the
Federal Voting Assistance Program should take certain additional and
timely measures to ensure that members of the Armed Forces and their
dependents and citizens living overseas are provided with reasonable
information on how to register to vote and vote in the 2008 general
elections.