dealing with this.
The CBC introduced HR 4197, the Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation, Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 2005, a major piece of legislation addressing the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. A major part of this bill requires Katrina evacuees be entitled to use the same process for voting as military personnel serving overseas.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109VwU1kg::SEC. 602. APPLICABILITY OF PROTECTIONS FOR ABSENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS TO KATRINA EVACUEES.
(a) Right of Katrina Evacuees to Use Absentee Balloting and Registration Procedures Available to Military and Overseas Voters- In the case of any individual who is an eligible Hurricane Katrina evacuee--
(1) the individual shall be treated in the same manner as an absent uniformed services voter and overseas voter for purposes of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.), other than section 103(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-2(b)(1)); and
(2) the individual shall be deemed to be an individual who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot for purposes of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
(b) Definition- For purposes of this section, the term `eligible Hurricane Katrina evacuee' means an individual--
(1) who certifies to the appropriate State election official that the individual is absent from the place of residence where the individual is otherwise qualified to vote as a result of evacuation from an area affected by Hurricane Katrina; and
(2) who provides the official with an affidavit stating that the individual intends to return to such place of residence after the election or elections involved.
(c) Requiring Designated Voter Registration Agencies to Notify Displaced Individuals of Availability of Protections- Each motor vehicle authority in a State and each voter registration agency designated in a State under section 7(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 shall take such steps as may be necessary to notify individuals to whom services are provided of the protections provided by this section and of the requirements for obtaining those protections, including the requirement to submit an affidavit stating that the individual intends to return to the place of residence where the individual is otherwise qualified to vote.
(d) Effective Date- This section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal office held in calendar years 2006 through 2008.Russ Feingold introduced similar voting legislation in the Senate. S. 1867.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d109:2:./temp/~bd6vpq::|/bss/109search.html|