Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) is a United States federal law dealing with elections and voting rights for United States citizens residing overseas. The act requires that all U.S. states and incorporated territories allow certain U.S. citizens to register to vote and to vote by absentee ballot in federal elections.[1] The act is Public Law 99-410 and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on August 28, 1986.[2]
Groups of people covered under the act are:
- Members of the seven Uniformed Services
- Members of the U.S. Merchant Marine
- Eligible family members of the above
- U.S. citizens employed by the federal government residing outside the U.S.
- All other private U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S.[3]
The act provides for an emergency back-up ballot, the Federal Write-In Absence Ballot (FWAB), which can be cast by voters who "have made a timely application for but have not received their regular ballot from the state or territory, subject to certain conditions."[4]
The act does not apply to non-federal elections, although some states and territories also allow citizens covered by the UOCAVA to register and vote in state and local elections as well.[5]
Contents |
[edit] FVAP
The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), part of the Department of Defense, is the program that administers the UOCAVA as well as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on behalf of the Secretary of Defense.[5]
[edit] Executive Order 12642
An executive order issued by President Reagan on June 9, 1988, designated the Secretary of Defense as the presidential designee responsible for administering the act and authorizes the Secretary of Defense to delegate the responsibilities under the act and executive order to other persons within the any person or persons within the Department of Defense[6] Department of Defense directives issued by Secretaries of Defense have delegated responsibilities for the FVAP to a FVAP director. The current director is Polli Brunelli, while the deputy director is J. Scott Wiedmann.
The act was amended by the Help America Vote Act (2002)[7] and the National Defense Authorization Acts in 2002)[8] and 2005.
[edit] References
- ^ Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (as modified by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2005). [1]
- ^ Coleman, Kevin J. "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Background and Issues." Congressional Research Service. 2003.
- ^ Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
- ^ "The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act." Voting Section Home Page. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. [2]
- ^ a b Federal Voting Assistance Program
- ^ "Executive Order 12642–Designation of the Secretary of Defense as the Presidential Designee Under Title I of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act." 8 June 1988. [3]
- ^ Coleman.
- ^ Ibid.
