More States Pass Laws to Help Military and Overseas Voters

Article Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives
More States Pass Laws to Help Military and Overseas Voters

Nearly five years ago, the Uniform Law Commission approved a model law, the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, designed to help resolve longstanding, widespread voting problems in federal, state, and local elections for American military personnel and citizens overseas.

This year, New Mexico became the 14th state plus the District of Columbia to pass a version of the law, and legislation has also been introduced in South Carolina.

The act extends provisions of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009, which covered federal elections, to state and local elections, including:

  • Mandating that absentee ballots be sent at least 45 days before an election.
  • Requiring electronic transmission of voting materials, including blank ballots, upon request.
  • Eliminating the requirement for notarization of military and overseas ballots.
  • Expanding acceptance of the Federal Write‐In Absentee Ballot (a backup measure if official ballots are not received).

Follow us on Twitter using #electiondata and get the latest data dispatches, research, and news by subscribing today.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives
Places
New Mexico Washington DC South Carolina

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

An adult and a child huddle in front of a laptop computer, their faces lit by the screen, with a room and bright windows behind them.

Article

November 27, 2023 Researchers Share How State Grants Boost Broadband Access
A group of teenagers gather in a park with bikes, their silhouettes in high contrast to the cloudy sky behind them.

Article

November 2, 2023 Insights on Brain Development Can Improve Youth Justice
Five video cameras on tripods stand in a line, with one reporter holding a camera slightly out of focus, all aimed at the same subject.

Article

October 6, 2023 Data-Based Journalism Needed to Advance Youth Justice

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.