Obama signs the MOVE Act, requiring states to send overseas ballots 45 days before federal elections

President Obama signed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act on October 28, 2009, amending UOCAVA to require states to transmit absentee ballots to military and overseas voters at least 45 days before a federal election. The law was prompted by a 2006 Election Assistance Commission study showing that nearly one-quarter of overseas ballot requests were rejected — most because the ballot arrived too late to be returned in time. The MOVE Act gave the Department of Justice authority to sue non-compliant states.