Campaigns Spar Over Military Absentee Ballots | Military.com

Campaigns Spar Over Military Absentee Ballots | Military.com

Even as state election officials across the U.S. have noticed a rise in military voting, a disturbing trend has appeared. The rate active-duty military voters who reported not receiving a requested absentee ballot almost doubled from 16 percent in 2008 to 29 percent in 2010, according to a survey done by the Defense Department’s Federal Voter Assistance Program (FVAP). 

“It is a very real challenge” to get ballots out to forward operating bases in Afghanistan and other duty stations worldwide, said Paddy McGuire, FVAP’s deputy director for Elections Assistance. Mail services must also return those ballots as servicemembers try to keep track of ever-changing voting deadlines and the blizzard of federal, state and local election laws.

The political parties have added to the confusion of who can vote and when. Both Republicans and Democrats have dispatched platoons of lawyers to challenge or defend local election laws as they jockey for advantage.

The parties have clashed recently over an Ohio law that allowed military absentee ballots to be accepted up to the day before the Nov. 6 general election day. The cutoff for civilian absentee ballots is Nov. 2.

The National Guard Association filed a motion backing Republicans seeking to keep the three-day window for the military although Joseph Goheen, an NGA spokesman, said the motion was filed reluctantly.

“Our intent was to ensure that our members had a voice in this,” Goheen said. “But it’s been twisted in every direction by those seeking to politicize this.”

He said he supported the solution of accepting all absentee ballots up to Nov. 5 as requested in the lawsuit filed jointly by the Obama campaign, the Democratic National Committee and Ohio Democratic Party in July.

“We have no problem with that. We’re really not taking sides in this,” said Goheen, who explained that NGA’s main concern is making voting as easy as possible for servicemembers overseas. 

McGuire admits a “complexity problem” still exists for troops trying to navigate the absentee ballot process.

Military and Overseas Voter Protection Act MOVE

MVP Project Director To Testify Before Congress

Tomorrow marks another step in the right direction for our military and their right to vote. I will testify on behalf of the Military Voter Protection Project (MVP Project) before the Committee on House Administration regarding the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act).

As you know the MOVE Act is intended to protect the right for all members of our military stationed overseas to vote. The 2010 election left us with work to be done, and tomorrow I will present MVP Project's preliminary analysis of the elections and whether the MOVE Act had a positive impact. I will also highlight the egregious treatment of military voters in New York and Illinois during the 2010 elections and further discuss unsettled issues regarding enforcement of the MOVE Act by the Voting Section of the Department of Justice.

Protecting military voting rights is not just a once every two years job. As you will see by tomorrow's hearings it is an everyday priority for the MVP Project. We are asking, once again, for your support as we ensure that every vote of every military man and woman is counted on Election Day. The MVP Project will continue to fight hard for their rights as they are fighting for our rights. Thank you for joining us for this important endeavor.

If you are in the DC Metro area and wish to attend, hearings are open to the general public. You can also show your support by watching a live web stream of the hearings at the Committee's website.

Sincerely,

Eric Eversole
Executive Director, Military Voter Protection Project

Military Ballot Update from The Hill

Pentagon seeks to ensure voting access for service members in midterm vote

The Pentagon is moving aggressively to ensure that military members deployed overseas can cast votes in the 2010 midterm elections.

The Defense Department’s Federal Voting Assistance program this week started its training program for voting assistance officers at military bases worldwide. Based on a Pentagon directive, a voting assistance officer needs to be at every unit level.

Military and overseas voters now have to submit a federal post card application every year instead of every two or four years.

Every voting assistance officer has to hand deliver or email a federal post card application to every military member by January 15 and get the word out about the importance of sending the application card to election officials in 2010, said a Pentagon spokeswoman.There are about 6 million uniformed and overseas citizens who vote absentee. Embassies and consulates overseas also must have voting assistance officers on hand. For example, close to 100,000 U.S. troops will be deployed to Afghanistan by the November midterm election.

Over the next several months, U.S. troops in Iraq will decrease from about 110,000 to 50,000. Only about six or seven out of every 10 absentee ballots cast by military members are successfully cast. In the general population about nine out of every 10 absentee ballots are successfully cast, according to Bob Carey, Federal Voting Assistance Program director.

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