After a 2-year drafting process, the Uniform Law Commission unanimously approved a landmark uniform act in summer of 2010 which now, having received the endorsement of the American Bar Association, is making its way through State houses and changing the way military and overseas voters will vote in the 2014 election.
As things now stand, UMOVA has been enacted in 13 states: CA, CO, HI, KY, MO, MT, NV, NC, ND, OK, PA, UT, VA, and the District of Columbia**
UMOVA takes to the state level the protections of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act signed into law by the President in November 2009. Among its critical provisions, it:
- 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 notarization requirements for 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.
UMOVA marks the first time in its history that the Uniform Law Commission, perhaps best known for the Uniform Commercial Code, has accepted to attempt to harmonize voting procedures among the states. While most people understand that it is necessary to have uniform laws governing the transport and sale of commercial goods throughout the United States or the transportation of human organs across state lines, many are less aware of the myriad differences in the way people vote in Oregon and Virginia, for example, and even less aware of how different the rules are for overseas voters from Michigan and Maryland.
The process of drafting and adopting uniform legislation that applies in many, most or all states is long and meticulous. Currently, as mentioned above, UMOVA has been enacted in 13 states: CA, CO, HI, KY, MO, MT, NV, NC, ND, OK, PA, UT, VA, and the District of Columbia** UMOVA legislation is in the drafting process in a number of others but unfortunately not, except for Califor..nia and Virginia, in most states with the highest number of military and overseas voters. For a map of its enactment status and links to the Act itself, fact sheets and related articles, click here.
It is important to note 1) that UMOVA is a "model" act and states (state-by-state) must FIRST enact the law for any of its provisions to come into force; and, 2) a state might not adopt all of UMOVA’s provisions, e.g. CA, NE, UT and VA did not approve voting in their state by citizens who have never resided in the U.S.
If you are a “UOCAVA” voter (all military personnel and their dependents, and all overseas civilians) and care about improving the process for this “swing state” population of several million and if your state is not one of those that have enacted UMOVA legislation, consider contacting your Secretary of State, State Director of Elections, and/or State Representative or Senator, to encourage their consideration of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act. For a quick link to your state election official, go to the Overseas Vote Foundation website at https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/eod.htm
** Note that some states not in this list are already very much in compliance with UMOVA provisions or have introduced legislation to become more so. One example is South Carolina, which recently enacted its own Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act which provides many UMOVA protections. South Carolina ranks in the top third in the nation for military personnel population.
Lucy Stensland Laederich, FAWCO U.S. Liaison
(updated January 2014)