HB 851

This bill requires an application for temporary absentee voting registration for armed forces personnel temporarily outside of the United States to include a copy of documentary proof of United States citizenship and, if the voter is a civilian overseas voter or a federal-only voter, documentary proof of overseas resid ence , which includes (i) a copy of a current, valid lease or title to a residence not located in the United States, bearing the name and overseas address of the applicant , (ii) a copy of financial records, such as a bank account, tax return, or other recor d from a financial agency or institution bearing the name and overseas address of the applicant , and (iii) a document or official record of a foreign government bearing the name and overseas address of the applicant. APPLICATION DEFICIENCY This bill pr ovides that if the application is missing a residency address of this state , overseas/current mailing address, identification, or documentary proof of citizenship, then the county election commission must notify the applicant of the application deficiency. If the application includes an email address or phone number, then the county election commission must make a reasonable effort to contact the applicant by email or phone and document such attempts. The deficiency must be recorded and a written report p repared, including the name of the administrator at the time the voter registration was filed, the nature of the deficiency, and date of contact attempts. This bill further provides that i f the applicant is ineligible to register to vote or does not prov ide documentary proof of United State s citizenship or overseas residency, or if the application is not timely received, then the county election commission must deny the application by writing the reason for rejection in the proper space on the application and must promptly notify the applicant in writing of the ground of ineligibility, a copy of which notification must be retained on file in the county election commission for at least two years. FEDERAL UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT This bill prohibits a Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ("UOCAVA"") absentee ballot application from being accepted if the applicant's voter registration application was rejected for failure to provide the required documentary proof of citizenship or overseas residency. This bill additionally prohibits a UOCAVA absentee ballot application from be ing rejected solely due to a mismatch between the identifying information of the elector on the application and the identifying information o f the elector on file with the county election commission. In such cases, the county election commission must send the applicant a provisional absentee ballot with the designation ""Provisional Ballot"" on the outer envelope and prominently displayed on the UOCAVA affidavit and information prepared by the secretary of state as to the process to be followed to cure the discrepancy. Further, if such ballot is returned to the election official prior to the closing of the polls on the day of the primary or elec tion, the elector may cure the discrepancy by submitting an affidavit to the election official along with a copy of documentary proof of United States citizenship or overseas residency before the close of the period for verifying provisional ballots. This bill provides that if the election official finds the affidavit and identification to be sufficient, the UOCAVA absentee ballot must be counted as other absentee ballots. If the election official finds the affidavit and identification to be insuffici ent, then the ballot must be rejected and the applicant notified of the reason for rejection. FEDERAL POST CARD APPLICATION This bill requires the secretary of state to notify the federal voting assistance program administrator that the proof of citizen ship requirement for voter registration must be added to state specific instructions of the federal post card application for this state. This bill requires applicants to complete all required sections of the federal postcard application and provide the documents necessary for verification of identity and eligibility for voter registration and UOCAVA voting privileges. The federal postcard application must be processed by a certain procedure described in this bill. ELECTRONIC APPLICATION This bill re quires the secretary of state to establish procedures that allow a military voter, civilian overseas voter, federal-only voter, or an eligible dependent thereof, to apply by electronic means to the county election commission of the county in which the pers on's voting residence is located for an absentee ballot. This bill further requires the secretary of state, in coordination with the county election commissions, to establish a free access system by which a military voter, civilian overseas voter, federal -only voter, or an eligible dependent thereof, may determine certain information described in this bill regarding their absentee ballot and other requests. COORDINATOR OF ELECTIONS This bill requires the coordinator of elections to create an affidavit to include with each absentee ballot delivered to a voter pursuant to this bill. This bill requires the instructions to the voter regarding signing and witnessing of the UOCAVA affidavit and the affidavit to include certain information described in this b ill. The affidavit does not need to be witnessed by a notary public. Additionally, f or voters requesting electronic transmission of the absentee ballot, the affidavit must be provided in electronic format to the voter; otherwise, the affidavit must be pr ovided printed on the ballot return envelope. REQUIREMENTS OF THE VOTER This bill provides that after the voter marks the ballot, the voter must complete the affidavit and return the absentee ballot to the appropriate county election commission by Unite d States mail, or commercial air, or grand carrier, in a certain manner depending on the type of transmission the voter requested. This bill provides that if a voter does not place the absentee ballot inside a secrecy envelope, then the absentee election manager must, immediately upon discovery, insert and seal the voter's ballot into a secrecy envelope and place inside an envelope of sufficient size the secrecy envelope, the UOCAVA affidavit, and the envelope used by the voter to deliver the ballot. T his bill provides that in order to be valid and counted, the UOCAVA ballot and affidavit must be received by the county election commission not later than the close of the polls on election day. This bill prohibits a person from returning by electronic m eans to the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other entity a completed or UOCAVA absentee ballot. If a ballot is returned electronically, the ballot must not be accepted, processed, or counted. Further, a ll ballots sent and received under this heading must be recorded to denote the defined categor ies of voters including (i) military personnel or dependent, (ii) overseas individual/voter, or (iii) federal-only voter. The numbers recorded for each category of voter's ballot in the previous p rovision, including rejected ballots, must be available for public inspection. The recorded vote totals by candidate or ballot question must be reported as a separate tally tape for UOCAVA ballots only or coded in such a manner as to make the results visi ble."