S.Amdt. 314

SA 314. Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. King, Mr. Tillis, and Ms.
Duckworth) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following:

SEC. ____. INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGISTRATION FOR
VOTING AND ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUESTS FOR MEMBERS
OF THE ARMED FORCES UNDERGOING DEPLOYMENT
OVERSEAS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 45 days prior to a general
election for Federal office, a member of the Armed Forces
shall be provided with the following:
(1) A Federal write-in absentee ballot prescribed pursuant
to section 103 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20303), together with
instructions on the appropriate use of the ballot with
respect to the State in which the member is registered to
vote.
(2) In the case of a member intending to vote in a State
that does not accept the Federal write-in absentee ballot as
a simultaneous application and acceptable ballot for Federal
elections, a briefing on, and an opportunity to fill out, the
official post card form for absentee voter registration
application and absentee ballot application prescribed under
section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(b)(2)).
(b) Personnel Responsible of Discharge.--Ballots and
instructions shall be provided pursuant to paragraphs(1) of
subsection (a) by Voting Assistance Officers or such other
personnel as the Secretary of the military department
concerned shall designate.
(c) Sense of Congress Relating to the Use of the Federal
Write-in Absentee Ballot.--
(1) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(A) Servicemembers serving abroad are subject to
disproportionate challenges in voting.
(B) As of May, 2019, only 28 States allow servicemembers to
use the Federal write-in absentee ballot as a simultaneous
application and acceptable ballot for Federal elections.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) Federal and State governments should remove all
obstacles that would inhibit deployed servicemembers from
voting; and
(B) States that do not allow servicemembers to use the
Federal write-in absentee ballot as a simultaneous
application and acceptable ballot for Federal elections
should modify their laws to permit such use.
______