1. (a) In general For the purposes of voting for any Federal office (as defined in section 30101 of title 52) or a State or local office, a person who is absent from a State in compliance with military or naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that absence—

   1. (1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domicile in that State, without regard to whether or not the person intends to return to that State;
   2. (2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or domicile in any other State; or
   3. (3) be deemed to have become a resident in or a resident of any other State.

2. (b) Spouses For the purposes of voting for any Federal office (as defined in section 30101 of title 52) or a State or local office, a person who is absent from a State because the person is accompanying the person’s spouse who is absent from that same State in compliance with military or naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that absence—

   1. (1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domicile in that State, without regard to whether or not the person intends to return to that State;
   2. (2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or domicile in any other State; or
   3. (3) be deemed to have become a resident in or a resident of any other State.

(Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, title VII, § 705, as added Pub. L. 108–189, § 1, Dec. 19, 2003, 117 Stat. 2865; amended Pub. L. 111–97, § 2(a), Nov. 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 3007.)

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 595 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2009—Pub. L. 111–97 inserted “and spouses of military personnel” after “military personnel” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec.(a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).

Effective Date of 2009 Amendment

Pub. L. 111–97, § 2(c), Nov. 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 3007, provided that:

“Subsection (b) of section 705 of such Act [Servicemembers Civil Relief Act] (50 U.S.C. App. 595) [now

50 U.S.C. 4025], as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply with respect to absences from States described in such subsection (b) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [

Nov. 11, 2009], regardless of the date of the military or naval order concerned.”