116 STAT. 1722 PUBLIC LAW 107-252—OCT. 29, 2002 TITLE VII—VOTING RIGHTS OF MILI- TARY MEMBERS AND OVERSEAS CITI- ZENS Regulations. Procedures. Procedures. Deadline. Reports. SEC. 701. VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. (a) VOTING ASSISTANCE OFFICERS.— Subsection (f) of section 1566 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 1602(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107; 115 Stat. 1274), is amended— (1) by striking "Voting assistance" in the first sentence and inserting "(1) Voting assistance"; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: "(2) Under regulations and procedures (including directives) prescribed by the Secretary, a member of the armed forces appointed or assigned to duty as a voting assistance officer shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be given the time and resources needed to perform the member's duties as a voting assistance officer during the period in advance of a general election when members and their dependents are preparing and submitting absentee ballots.". (b) POSTMARKING OF OVERSEAS VOTING MATERIALS.—Subsection (g)(2) of such section is amended by adding at the end the following: "The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, implement measures to ensure that a postmark or other official proof of mailing date is provided on each absentee ballot collected at any overseas location or vessel at sea whenever the Department of Defense is responsible for collecting mail for return shipment to the United States. The Secretary shall ensure that the measures implemented under the preceding sentence do not result in the delivery of absentee ballots to the final destination of such ballots after the date on which the election for Federal office is held. Not later than the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the measures to be implemented to ensure the timely transmittal and postmarking of voting materials and identifying the persons responsible for implementing such measures.". (c) PROVIDING NOTICE OF DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS.— Such section is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(h) NOTICE OF DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS. —The Secretary of each military department, utilizing the voting assistance officer network established for each military installation, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, provide notice to members of the Armed Forces stationed at that installation of the last date before a general Federal election for which absentee ballots mailed from a postal facility located at that installation can reasonably be expected to be timely delivered to the appropriate State and local election officials.". (d) REGISTRATION AND VOTING INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS AND DEPENDENTS. — Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(i) REGISTRATION AND VOTING INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS AND DEPENDENTS.—(1) The Secretary of each military department, using a variety of means including both print and electronic media, shall.
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