Reagan signs Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, first federal statute guaranteeing mail ballot access to military and overseas voters

President Reagan signed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act on August 28, 1986, creating the first comprehensive federal statute guaranteeing mail ballot rights to U.S. citizens serving in the military or living abroad. The bipartisan law required states to allow covered voters to register and vote absentee in federal elections and established the Federal Voting Assistance Program within the Defense Department.