UOCAVA
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, requiring ballots to reach military and overseas voters 45 days before a federal election.
UOCAVA's 45-day ballot rule forced the Justice Department and South Carolina into a consent agreement by 20 July 2026, because the overseas deadline for the state's special Senate primary had passed on 27 June, before the vacancy existed.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for UOCAVA
Mentioned in: Pentagon cuts a box from overseas forms
US Midterms 2026Georgia mails its first overseas ballots
US Midterms 2026Set the 45-day ballot-mailing deadline the agreement addresses
US Midterms 2026: Dhillon signs deal on South Carolina ballotsMentioned in: SC sets special primary for 11 August
US Midterms 2026Background
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act became law in 1986 and remains the only federal statute devoted to voting by service members, their families and citizens living abroad. The 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, passed inside that year's defence authorisation, added the requirement that ballots go out at least 45 days before a federal election.
The rule applies to primaries, general elections, specials and runoffs alike. A state that cannot comply may apply to the Secretary of Defense for an undue-hardship waiver under 52 U.S.C. § 20302(g). The Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program administers the federal forms covered voters use to register and request ballots.
In practice the 45-day clock is the act's sharpest edge. Every election calendar, including any compressed special-election timetable, has to be built backwards from it, and the Justice Department enforces it against states that fall short.
A special election outran the 45-day rule
South Carolina set its special Senate calendar on 13 July 2026: filing from 21 to 28 July, a primary on 11 August and a runoff on 25 August. Counting back 45 days, the act's ballot deadline for the primary fell on 27 June and for the runoff on 11 July, both before or on the day of Lindsey Graham's death created the seat.
The statute offers a hardship waiver from the Secretary of Defense, but the dates could not be met by anyone. By 20 July the Justice Department and the state had settled on a consent agreement that extended the return deadline for military and overseas voters, rather than litigating a breach nobody could have avoided.
The midterm deadline fell on 19 September
For the 3 November 2026 general election, the act required states to send ballots to military and overseas voters by Saturday 19 September. Georgia transmitted its first on 15 September, four days inside that line.
The forms these voters use changed underneath them. In late August the Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program removed a checkbox, in use since 2013, that let US citizens who have never lived in the United States register; National Public Radio reported the change on 30 September, after ballots were already out. States may still take the earlier versions of the forms, according to the Pentagon.
What is UOCAVA?
When was UOCAVA passed?
Why does UOCAVA matter for South Carolina's special Senate election?
How can a state get out of UOCAVA's 45-day ballot deadline?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 1 October 2026. Editorial standards.