California Officials, UOCAVA Violation, California 2012

California officials under fire for failing to send absentee ballots to thousands of military servicemembers, their family members, and U.S. citizens living overseas in time for the June 5, 2012, federal primary election.

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to allow uniformed service voters and their families, as well as overseas citizens, to register to vote and vote absentee for all elections for federal office. However, California officials allegedly failed to comply with this law, sending absentee ballots to thousands of eligible voters at least 45 days prior to the election.

“Members of our armed forces, their families and overseas citizens are entitled to a complete and meaningful opportunity to vote, and the Justice Department is committed to seeking full access to the ballot box for all voters – regardless of where they are on Election Day,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

California Secretary of State worked cooperatively with the DOJ and agreed to implement measures that will ensure California’s military and overseas voters will have the opportunity to fully participate in June’s primary election and future federal elections.

Under the agreement, affected voters will be notified of their options to receive and return their ballots by electronic or other expedited methods, and they will be offered the option of returning their ballots by express delivery at no cost to the voter.

The agreement also commits the California Secretary of State to closely monitor and certify California counties’ transmission of UOCAVA ballots, conduct training of county election officials before the 2012 general election, provide assistance to its counties when necessary, and report back to the United States about its UOCAVA compliance for the 2012 federal general election and the 2014 federal election cycle.

Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said, “Our fine men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices serving our nation every day. This agreement ensures that military voters, as well as U.S. citizens who are overseas, need not sacrifice their right to vote.”

The agreement must be approved by the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif.

Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, added, “The California Secretary of State worked cooperatively with the department and agreed to implement measures that will ensure California’s military and overseas voters will have the opportunity to fully participate in June’s primary election and future federal elections.”

Related Federal Cases