A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a covered voter, as defined in § 24.2-452, may use a federal write-in absentee ballot in any election. Such ballot shall be submitted and processed in the manner provided by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. § 20301 et seq.) and this article.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a federal write-in absentee ballot submitted pursuant to subsection A shall be considered valid for purposes of simultaneously satisfying both an absentee ballot application and a completed absentee ballot, provided that the ballot is received no later than the deadline for the return of absentee ballots as provided in § 24.2-709 for the election in which the voter offers to vote, and the application contains the following information: (i) the voter’s signature; however, if the voter is unable to sign, the person assisting the voter will note this fact in the voter signature box; (ii) the voter’s printed name; (iii) the voter’s birth year; (iv) the last four digits of the voter’s social security number; (v) the county or city in which the voter is registered and offers to vote; (vi) the residence address at which the voter is registered to vote; and (vii) the voter’s current military or overseas address. For purposes of this section, the unique identifier assigned to the voter in the voter registration system pursuant to subdivision A 1 of § 24.2-404 shall be accepted in place of the last four digits of the voter’s social security number for those voters whose registration includes a statement of affirmation that they have never been issued a social security number.

C. This section shall not be construed to require that an absentee ballot be sent to the absentee voter on receipt of a federal write-in absentee ballot unless the voter has also submitted an absentee ballot application pursuant to § 24.2-701.