"(b) No official Federal war ballot shall be valid if—

"1. the voter has also voted in person or by absentee ballot in accordance with the procedure provided by State law; or

"2. the date of the oath of elector is later than the date of the holding of the election; or

"3. such ballot is received by the appropriate election official of the district, precinct, county, or other voting unit of the State of the voter's residence later than the hour for the closing of the polls on the date of the holding of the election, except that any extension of time for the receipt of absentee ballots permitted by State laws shall apply to ballots cast under this title. "(c) All ballot envelopes received by a secretary of state at a date or time too late for proper delivery, and all ballot envelopes not delivered to polling places or to the proper officials shall not be opened but shall be endorsed with the date of reception and shall be retained by the secretary until the time has expired for contesting the election, when they shall be destroyed without examination.

"VOTING SAFEGUARDS

"SEC. 312. Every individual concerned with the administration of this title shall take all necessary steps to prevent fraud, to protect voters against coercion of any sort, and to safeguard the integrity and secrecy of ballots cast hereunder.

"PENALTIES

"SEC. 313. The provisions of law prohibiting offenses against the elective franchise shall apply in the case of elections and voting conducted pursuant to the provisions of this title: Provided, however, That no act done in good faith by a member of the armed forces of the United States, in the exercise of his judgment as to what was practicable and compatible with military operations, shall constitute a violation of any such provision of law.

"TAKING OF POLLS PROHIBITED

"SEC. 314. (a) No person within or without the armed forces of the United States shall poll any member of such forces, either within or without the United States, either before or after he shall have executed any ballot either under the provisions of this title or under any State law, with reference to his choice of or his vote for any candidate for any of the offices authorized to be voted for by the use of the aforesaid ballot nor state, publish, or release any result of any purported poll taken from or among the members of the armed forces of the United States or including within it the statement of choice for or of votes cast by any member of the armed forces of the United States for any of the offices authorized to be voted for by the use of the aforesaid ballot.

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"(b) The word 'poll' is defined as any request for information, either verbal or written, which by its language or form of expression requires or implies the necessity of an answer, where the request is made with the intent of compiling the result of the answers obtained, either for the personal use of the person making the request, or for

the purpose of reporting the same to any other person, persons, political party, unincorporated association or corporation, or for the purpose of publishing the same orally, by radio, or in written or printed form.

"(c) Any person not a member of the armed forces of the United States who violates the provisions of this section, either within or outside of the United States, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

66 APPROPRIATE STATE OFFICIALS

"SEC. 315. Wherever, in any State, an official other than the secretary of state is the appropriate State official to carry out any function vested in the secretary of state under this title, the term 'secretary

of state' shall mean such other official.

"OFFICIALS AND AGENCIES TO ACT FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

"SEC. 316. Each secretary of state may utilize the services of such State and local officials and agencies for such purposes and to such extent as he may deem appropriate in the exercise of his powers and duties under this title.

"ACT TO BE LIBERALLY CONSTRUED

"SEC. 317. The provisions of this Act shall be construed liberally in order to effectuate its purposes.

"TITLE IV

"MISCELLANEOUS

"SEC. 401. There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

"SEC. 402. Post cards, ballots, and envelopes referred to in this Act shall be transmitted free of postage, including air-mail postage, in the United States mails.

"SEC. 403. As used in this Act

"(1) the term 'United States' used geographically includes only the territorial limits of the several States of the United States and the District of Columbia; and

"(2) the term 'members of the merchant marine of the United States' means persons employed as officers or members of crews of vessels documented under the laws of the United States and persons enrolled for such employment with the United States War Shipping Administration, but does not include those in service or enrolled for service on the Great Lakes or the inland waterways.

"SEPARABILITY

"SEC. 404. If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the applicability of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

"TITLE V

"AMENDMENTS TO ACT OF AUGUST 2, 1939, AS AMENDED

"SEC. 501. The Act of August 2, 1939, entitled 'An Act to prevent pernicious political activities', as amended, is hereby amended by adding thereto the following new sections:

"SEC. 22. It shall be unlawful for any officer of, or person employed in, the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any agency or department thereof, including the Army and Navy, to deliver or cause to be delivered to persons in the armed forces of the United States any general communication, Government magazine, Government newspaper, motion-picture film, or other literature or material, or to make, or cause to be made, any broadcast to the armed forces of the United States, paid for in whole or in part with Government funds, or sponsored by the Government, or any oflicer, agency, or department thereof, including the Army and Navy, containing political argument or political propaganda of any kind designed or calculated to affect the result of any election for President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, except as hereinafter provided:

"(1) Nothing herein shall prohibit the rebroadcast over Government-controlled radio stations of any political address, but equal time must if requested be given for such purposes to representatives of each political party which has a candidate for President in at least six States in the current Presidential election.

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"(2) Nothing herein shall prevent the distribution to members of the armed forces of books, magazines, and newspapers which have a general circulation in the United States, or of servicemen's magazines or newspapers, or the presentation to members of the armed forces of motion-picture films, radio broadcasts, or rebroadcasts; but

"(a) the list of such magazines and newspapers of general circulation shall be determined in accordance with the preference of the members of the armed forces in some reliable method to be determined by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy;

"(b) any such books of general circulation hereafter purchased shall be selected from books not containing political argument or political propaganda of any kind designed or calculated to affect the result of any election for the Federal offices above-mentioned; and

"(c) such motion-picture films, radio broadcasts or rebroadcasts, and servicemen's magazines or newspapers, sponsored or paid for by the Government, shall be nonpartisan and nonpolitical: Provided, That this subparagraph shall not prohibit or curtail impartial coverage or presentation, as news or information, of public events, and persons in public life: And provided further, That if in any issue or presentation space or time is allotted to editorials,

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political party which has a candidate for President in at least six States in the current Presidential election, an equal amount of space or time shall be allotted in the same issue or presentation to similar matter concerning each such other political party.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent the sending of any letter, communication, magazine, newspaper, or other literature ́by any individual, corporation (other than a Government-owned or Government-controlled corporation), or political committee to any member of the armed forces, addressed personally to such member of the armed forces, and paid for by him, or by the individual, corporation, or committee sending the same.

"SEC. 23. It shall be unlawful for any censor or other member of the executive branch of the United States Government to remove from any letter or communication addressed to an individual member of the armed forces political literature or political arguments or other matter sent to such individual member of the armed forces by any individual, corporation, or political committee, unless such literature or other matter contains information which may be of value to the enemy in their prosecution of the war.

"SEC. 24. Any person who violates the provisions of section 22 or section 23 hereof either within or outside of the United States shall upon conviction thereof be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.'”

[NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.-The foregoing act, having been presented to the President of the United States on Monday, March 20, 1944 for his approval and not having been returned by him to the House of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.]

[CHAPTER 152-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 4346]

AN ACT

Making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certain appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, and for prior fiscal years, to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to supply deficiencies in certain appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, and for prior fiscal years, to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, and for other purposes:

NAVY DEPARTMENT

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

Claims for damages by collision with naval vessels: To pay claims for damages adjusted and determined by the Secretary of the Navy under the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to amend the Act authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to settle claims for damages to private property arising from collisions with naval vessels", approved December 28, 1922, as fully set forth in Senate Document Numbered 169, and House Document Numbered 462, Seventy-eighth Congress, $15,928.73.

COAST GUARD

Claims for damages, operation of vessels, Coast Guard: To pay claims for damages adjusted and determined by the Secretary of the Navy under the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the adjustment and settlement of certain claims for damages resulting from the operation of vessels of the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service, in sums not exceeding $3,000 in any one case", approved June 15, 1936, as fully set forth in Senate Document Numbered 170, and House Document Numbered 467, Seventy-eighth Congress, $4,610.85.

TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATIONS

The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed. to transfer the sum of $262,759,000 from the appropriation "Ordnance and ordnance stores, Navy, 1944", to other appropriations of the Navy Department for the fiscal year 1944, as follows: