Servicemember Voting Protection Act

Servicemember Voting Protection Act

This bill requires a state, upon request by an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter who simultaneously applies for voter registration and an absentee ballot, to provide absentee ballots for subsequent elections through the next general election for federal office.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3343 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3343

  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
require States upon request to provide absent uniformed services voters 
  and overseas voters who receive absentee ballots in an election for 
    Federal office held in the State with absentee ballots for all 
 subsequent elections for Federal office held in the State through the 
 next regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2017

  Mr. Kihuen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to 
require States upon request to provide absent uniformed services voters 
  and overseas voters who receive absentee ballots in an election for 
    Federal office held in the State with absentee ballots for all 
 subsequent elections for Federal office held in the State through the 
 next regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemember Voting Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF SINGLE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT 
              ELECTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 104 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20306) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 104. USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--If a State accepts and processes an official 
post card form (prescribed under section 101) submitted by an absent 
uniformed services voter or overseas voter for simultaneous voter 
registration and absentee ballot application (in accordance with 
section 102(a)(4)) 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 State through the next 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office (including any 
runoff elections which may occur as a result of the outcome of such 
general election), the State shall provide an absentee ballot to the 
voter for each such subsequent election.
    ``(b) Exception for Voters Changing Registration.--Subsection (a) 
shall not apply with respect to a voter registered to vote in a State 
for any election held after the voter notifies the State that the voter 
no longer wishes to be registered to vote in the State or after the 
State determines that the voter has registered to vote in another State 
or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote in the State.
    ``(c) Prohibition of Refusal of Application on Grounds of Early 
Submission.--A State may not refuse to accept or to process, with 
respect to any election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter 
registration application or absentee ballot application (including the 
postcard form prescribed under section 101) 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 citizens.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 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 the enactment of this Act.
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