H.R. 4567: Supporting Military Voters Act

The Supporting Military Voters Act is a bill designed to enhance the voting access and registration information for military personnel and their families who are away from their usual voting locations. Here's what the bill would do:

Objectives of the Bill

• The bill aims to require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a comprehensive analysis of how well the federal government is doing in supporting absent uniformed services voters, who are typically military members and their families.
• It also focuses on finding ways to improve access to voter registration information and assistance for military members and their families.

Key Analyses to be Conducted

The analysis of the federal government’s effectiveness would include several specific areas:

• Ballot Transmission: Data on how ballots are sent to absent uniformed services voters and how those ballots are returned after being filled out.
• Voted Ballot Treatment: Examination of how election officials treat the voted ballots from military voters, including:
  • The percentage of these ballots that are counted in elections.
  • The rejection rate of these ballots and reasons for their rejection.
• Voting Assistance: Effectiveness of assistance offered to military voters by designated Voting Assistance Officers.
• Coordination with Election Officials: Review of how well Voting Assistance Officers coordinate with state and local election officials.
• Voter Registration Awareness: Information on military members’ awareness of their rights to voter registration assistance.

Study of Improvements

The bill also mandates a study to include:

• Assessment of actions that could be taken by military department leaders to enhance access to voter registration for their personnel and families.
• Cost estimates and requirements associated with implementing these improvements.

Methodology for Analysis

The Comptroller General is required to:

• Use existing data from government and public sources.
• Gather additional information through investigations, including interviews and direct analysis.

Reporting Timeline

The findings and recommendations from the analysis and study must be compiled into a report and submitted to the relevant committees in Congress by September 30, 2027.

Definitions

The bill clarifies that:

• An absent uniformed services voter refers to military members who are away from their voting locations.
• A family member includes spouses and dependents of military personnel.

Relevant Companies

• None found