Recognize that some jurisdictions have expanded the use of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots to State and local offices as well as primary elections.

Clarify that all three requirements for a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot must be met.  (page 4) The current list does not use "and" to indicate that all three bullets must be met.

There is a typo in the first bullet on page 8 (suing instead of using)

The bullet on page 8 with information about verifying an address though the FVAP only applies to military voters.  This is not an option for overseas voters. 

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (All pages):

It appears that the pages within this portion of the guide are not all numbered. We recommend, for reference purposes, that every page should contain a page number.

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Definitions and Forms - what appears to be page 2):

We recommend information be provided in this section that clarifies what ballots UOCAVA voters are to be provided. Some states only allow for federal election ballots while others allow, per State law, for some UOCAVA voters to get state and local election balloting materials.   We recommend that within this page that a section is added that reads:

What ballots will a UOCAVA voters receive?

UOCAVA requires states and territories to allow the covered groups listed above to register and vote absentee ballots in elections for Federal offices. In addition, many states and territories have developed their own laws allowing citizens covered by UOCAVA to register and vote absentee ballots in state and local elections as well.

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Communication Techniques - page 7):

The third and last paragraph of this page appears to have a typo in the last sentence of this paragraph. The acronym FPCS should be FPCA.

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Communication Techniques – what appears to be page 8):

In the first set of bullet points on this page, the first bullet item has a typo, "suing" should be "using".

In the first set of bullet points on this page, the fourth bulleted item sentence should be clarified to state that this address verification option is only valid for Uniformed Service Members. We recommend that the sentence be amended to read "For Uniformed Service Member voters, verify the address through the FVAP’s Department of Defense’s database,…"

In the second set of bullet points on this page, the third bulleted item, second sentence has a typo and should read "Be sure that your staff is trained to monitor and respond promptly to any email inquiries." At the end of this same sentence, we also recommend that a "Tip" be added that reads "Tip: Consider creating and listing, on your website, a unique email address specific for UOCAVA voters so that emails coming in from these voters can be directed to specific staff trained to respond to UOCAVA voter concerns. Subsequently, this would allow for expedited handling of these inquiries given that you would not have to filter through general emails.

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Communication Techniques – what appears to be page 8):

In the last paragraph before the last set of bulleted items, it indicates that "…there are currently three alternative transmission methods allowed by various states". However, there are four bulleted items list (continued onto page 9). We recommend that this statement should be modified to read that "…there are currently four alternative transmission methods allowed by various states:"

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Communication Techniques – what appears to be page 9):

At the top of the page, the "NOTE" section should read "NOTE: Be sure that the voter always mails…"

Comments on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (Resources for Local Election Officials – what appears to be page 9):

First paragraph, last sentence indicates that the FVAP "Guide" provides information to help "military voters". The fact is that the FVAP guide is designed to help all UOCAVA voters and not just military voters. We recommend that the sentence be modified to read "The Guide helps local election officials understand the information provided to UOCAVA voters."

We have reviewed the draft document, "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens" and have made numerous changes.  The file with these changes has been forwarded separately to the EAC for posting. 

-- The document provides a general introduction to the Federal Post Card Application (FPC

A) and the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). While useful as a general overview for someone unfamiliar with the forms, the document does not offer any information that is not already available in the materials produced and distributed through the Federal Voting Assistance Program office.

-- The document could be improved by exploring those issues and questions that pose some difficulty for election administrators. Three examples:

1) Additional detail regarding the relatively new requirement that the FPCA must be honored for every federal election through the second November general election following the submission of the form would be helpful. (The requirement is mentioned in passing in the third paragraph on page 1.) Typical questions: Does the requirement have to be observed if the military member is discharged in the middle of the "two federal election cycle"? Does the right to receive ballots for the "two federal election cycle" follow the voter if he/she moves to a different jurisdiction in the state? Does an election official have an obligation to continue sending ballots if they keep coming back marked "undeliverable" and a better address cannot be found?

2) When do "late counts" come into play and how can election officials avoid them?

3) What actions can states take to expedite the transmission of the FPCA and the exchange of the ballot? What programs are offered to assist election officials in this regard and how do they work? (This topic is briefly covered on page 8.)

-- Two typos need correction. Page 7, third paragraph: "FPCA" as opposed to "FPCS." Page 8, first bullet: "using the FVAP’s Election Transmission Service" as opposed to "suing the FVAP’s Election Transmission Service."