Jay Rockefeller: “millions of Americans live abroad, serving in our military or working in foreign countries. These Americans pay taxes…”

“millions of Americans live abroad, serving in our military or working in foreign countries. These Americans pay taxes and have the right to vote. They deserve to know that their votes will be counted. Today, I am introducing legislation designed to streamline and improve the process for absentee ballots to help ensure that Americans living overseas can participate in American elections. The bill is called the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Reform Act. It is based on the bipartisan legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Congressman Thomas Reynolds. This bill is developed through recommendations of overseas Americans. Our goal is to help both military and civilian citizens overseas to participate in elections. The right to vote is important in our country, and we need to encourage all of our citizens, including those millions living abroad, to participate in elections.”