Heroes Vote

Army Association Honors OH Secretary of State Jon Husted

Heroes Vote — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:02:37 +0000

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) – A nonprofit association is honoring Ohio’s secretary of state for his efforts to ease the voting process for military personnel and their families.

The Association of the United States Army planned Friday to present a certificate of appreciation to Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO’-sted) in the Cleveland suburb of Independence. A spokesman for the group says the certificate recognizes Husted’s efforts to simplify the voting process for military personnel and make voting information more accessible.

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California AB269 to give military more voting rights

Heroes Vote — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:22:58 +0000

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A measure written by a local assemblywoman that would give military personnel overseas more voting rights has cleared its first hurdle.

Assembly Bill 269 would allow the ballots of military service members and other Californians overseas to be counted up to three days after Election Day, so long as the ballots are postmarked by that day.

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Deal Reached on Kentucky Military Voting Legislation

Heroes Vote — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:24:10 +0000

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A last-minute deal on legislation that would allow help streamline the voting process by overseas military personnel has cleared the Kentucky General Assembly.

Working until the last minute of the 2013 session, lawmakers went back to the original Senate version of the military voting bill, which allows for electronic sending of ballots to overseas military but snail mail return of the ballot.

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Texas Secretary of State John Steen Launches Boots and Ballots Tour

Heroes Vote — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 01:27:56 +0000

AUSTIN—Texas Secretary of State John Steen today launched an initiative, The Boots and Ballots Tour, by the Elections Division in the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, to prepare and provide military voters with additional resources to register to vote and participate in local, state and federal elections. There are two Uniform Election dates in Texas this year; May 11, 2013 and November 5, 2013.

“No one does more to protect our freedom and right to vote than the men and women of our armed services,” said Secretary Steen. “So we must do everything we can to ensure they can participate in the very process they are serving and fighting to protect and defend.”

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American Legion CO: ‘Voting is not a political act. It’s an act of citizenship.’

Heroes Vote — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:51:08 +0000

On Wednesday, the National Commander of the American Legion, James E. Koutz’ told the National Executive Committee that veterans must have a voice in Washington and that the issues affecting them must be addressed from absentee ballot requests to defense budget sequestration and the back log of VA claims.

In terms of this year’s presidential elections, Koutz relayed his concerns about service members having access to absentee voting ballots and that those ballots be correctly counted when cast.

The Military Voter Protection Project did a study in August 2012 that found absentee ballot requests from service members are down 70 percent from the 2008 elections.

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Despite new law, military absentee ballot requests down sharply

Heroes Vote — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:08:52 +0000

Few acts reveal a sense of duty to country for Americans more than voting – and, perhaps, serving in the armed forces.

But in this tightly contested presidential election year, absentee ballot requests from military members and their families are down sharply from 2008, raising concerns that despite a new law aimed at getting out the military vote, many of those serving will not be involved in choosing the next commander in chief.

The Military Voter Protection Project (MVP) released figures last month indicating steep declines in absentee ballot requests in five swing states, including a 90 percent dropoff in Virginia.

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States struggling to meet deadlines for delivering absentee ballots

Heroes Vote — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:52:46 +0000

WASHINGTON — Nearly three years after Congress passed a law to guarantee military and overseas voters receive their absentee ballots at least 45 days before a federal election, several states are still failing to comply with the law.

The Department of Justice announced last week that it had filed a lawsuit against Vermont and its chief election official for not complying with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, also known as the MOVE Act, which was passed in 2009 to safeguard the voting rights of the military, their family members and U.S. citizens overseas by allowing them adequate time to request, receive and send in their ballots from overseas.

Editorial: Bureaucratic Enemy Faces the Troops

Heroes Vote — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:48:03 +0000

Read the numbers how you will, it’s still troubling that a number of American troops won’t be voting this election season.

A recent story from Illinois Statehouse News predicts that it’s going to be a dismal year for absentee voting by military members overseas because of the low number of requested ballots for the November election.
On one hand, you could say that there are fewer troops overseas because of the draw down in Afghanistan, which would be true. And you could argue that soldiers simply aren’t enamored of the voting process, for one of many reasons.

But one expert says, and this troubles us the most, that it’s more likely that there is a “systemic problem with voting access in the U.S. military.”

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In election with big military implications, voter turnout among troops seems bleak

Heroes Vote — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:38:27 +0000

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. – In less than three weeks, Americans will head to the polls to decide between the Democratic incumbent, President Barack Obama, and his challenger, former Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. As is the case every election, however, millions of patriotic Americans will be unable to punch their ballot in the voting booth. Many members of the U.S. military, due to overseas deployments, or simply being stationed far away from home, must vote via absentee ballot in order to be heard.

But this year, in a tight race for the White House that promises to have enormous implications for the Department of Defense, absentee ballot requests among members of the armed forces are down.

According the Military Voting Project, a nonpartisan advocate for military participation in the electoral process, in many states, service member requests for absentee ballots are down at least 50 percent from where they were in the 2008 presidential election.

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Military absentee ballot requests remain drastically low

Heroes Vote — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:36:35 +0000

As of today, voting registration deadlines in 18 states and territories have passed, and military absentee ballot requests remain at a worryingly low level compared with past election years.

According to the most recent data, released Sept. 22, Florida has sent 65,173, compared to the just over 95,000 it counted four years ago. Virginia has sent out 12,292 military and overseas absentee ballots, less than 43 percent of the 28,816 it counted in 2008.

“It doesn’t take much to figure out that it will be difficult to meet the 2008 participation levels, even if every single ballot is returned and counted,” Military Voter Protection Project Executive Director Eric Eversole told Human Events.

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