Rarely does the first iteration of a law translate legislative intent into implementation flawlessly and durably. The legislative process allows us to correct, improve or update laws as needed in our changing times. It’s an ongoing process, and one we should embrace! A new round of legislative reform is needed to ensure that the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and its progeny continue to play a vital role. In 2009, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) was passed as a much-needed, bipartisan reform to UOCAVA; and it has served as a mechanism to modernize key aspects of UOCAVA. The MOVE Act’s creation was informed by years of research, including work by U.S. Vote Foundation’s (US Vote) Overseas Vote initiative (formerly Overseas Vote Foundation), and it has been demonstrably successful in accelerating the transition to online methods for most overseas and military voting processes across all states.
Four general elections have been conducted since the MOVE Act was originally enacted and there is plenty of data to examine regarding its effects. Since then, overseas voting has been streamlined to the point that one can say that it rivals domestic absentee voting in its ease. US Vote’s Election Day Voter Experience Survey indicated that 72% of overseas voters are receiving their blank ballots through online methods. That’s progress.
In contrast, and despite improved online services, the UOCAVA voter turnout numbers since the Act’s passage have not changed dramatically. In fact, as reported by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, turnout has remained unacceptably low.
Further reforms are needed to improve the voting prospects for both military and overseas voters, and ultimately do what the MOVE Act has been unable to do: boost overseas and military voter turnout. With the MOVE Act we gained ground, but it did not go far enough to simplify the complex UOCAVA voting process.
Full Article: Time for Act II of the MOVE Act | U.S. Vote Foundation.