Uniform Law Commission
111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 1010, Chicago IL 60602
312/450-6600, www.nccusl.org
Contact:
Katie Robinson, ULC Communications Officer, 312-450-6616, katie.robinson@nccusl.org
Michael Kerr, ULC Legislative Counsel, 312-450-6620, michael.kerr@nccusl.org
For Immediate Release:
New Act Designed to Help Military and Overseas Voters
Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act Approved by National Law Group
July 30, 2010 – A new state law designed to address longstanding, widespread voting problems
for American military personnel and U.S. citizens overseas, was recently approved by the Uniform Law
Commission (ULC) at its 119th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The primary purpose of the new
Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act (UMOVA), is to provide the states with a law that will simplify
the process of absentee voting for United States military and overseas civilians by making the process
more uniform, convenient, secure and efficient.
Military personnel and overseas civilians face a variety of challenges to their participation as
voters in U.S. elections, despite repeated congressional and state efforts to facilitate their ability to vote.
These challenges include difficulty in registering abroad, frequent address changes, slow mail delivery or
ballots and ballot applications that never arrive, difficulty in obtaining information about candidates or
issues, the inability to comply with notarization or verification procedures, or the voter’s failure to
properly comply with non-essential requirements for absentee materials.
The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA) and the
Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 (MOVE), as well as various state efforts, have
not been wholly effective in overcoming the difficulties that these voters face. American elections are
conducted at the state and local levels under procedures that vary dramatically by jurisdiction, and
many are conducted independent of the federal elections to which UOCAVA and the MOVE Act do
apply. This lack of uniformity, and lack of application of the federal statutes to state and local elections,
complicates efforts to more fully enfranchise these voters.
UMOVA was drafted to address these issues. Key highlights of UMOVA include:
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Expands the class of covered voters to include, among other groups, the National Guard;
Extends to state elections the assistance and protections for military and overseas voters
currently found in federal law;
Mandates that absentee ballots for all elections be sent at least 45 days before an election;
Requires electronic transmission of voting materials, including blank absentee ballots for all
elections, upon request;
Eliminates the requirement for notarization of military and overseas ballots; and
Expands acceptance of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (used as a back-up measure when
official ballots aren’t received) for all elections.
The new Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act uses and builds upon the key requirements
of UOCAVA and MOVE, and extends the important protections and benefits of these acts to voting in
applicable state and local elections. Together with UOCAVA and MOVE, the new Uniform Act will help
to more fully and effectively enfranchise our military personnel and overseas civilians.
Further information on the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act can be found at the ULC’s
website at www.nccusl.org, or at www.umova.org.
The drafting committee on the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act was chaired by Steve
Wilborn of Shelbyville, Kentucky. Other committee members included: Terry J. Care, Las Vegas,
Nevada; Stephen T. Draffin, Columbia, South Carolina; Barry C. Hawkins, Stamford, Connecticut; Lyle W.
Hillyard, Logan, Utah; Daniel Ivey-Soto, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Claire Levy, Boulder, Colorado; Luke
Messer, Indianapolis, Indiana; Susan Kelly Nichols, Raleigh, North Carolina; Ralph G. Thompson,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Nora Winkelman, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Prof. Steven Huefner of the
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, in Columbus, Ohio, served as the committee’s reporter.
The Uniform Law Commission, now in its 119th year, comprises more than 350 practicing lawyers,
governmental lawyers, judges, law professors, and lawyer-legislators from every state, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Uniform law commissioners are appointed by their
states to draft and promote enactment of uniform laws that are designed to solve problems common to
all the states.
After receiving the ULC’s seal of approval, a uniform act is officially promulgated for consideration by
the states, and legislatures are urged to adopt it. Since its inception in 1892, the ULC has been
responsible for more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform
Commercial Code, the Uniform Probate Code, the Uniform Partnership Act, and the Uniform Anatomical
Gift Act.
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