Statement Before the Subcommittee on Military Personnel
Committee on Armed Services
United States House of Representatives

By COL Charles C. Partridge, U.S. Army, Retired.
Chairman: National Military Veterans Alliance

On 9 MAY 2001

Military Absentee Voting

DISCLOSURE:
The National Military and Veterans Alliance (NMVA) has not received a grant from (and/or sub grant) or a contract (and/or subcontract) with the federal government for the past three fiscal years.

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee, the National Military and Veterans Alliance would like to express its appreciation to you for holding these important hearings. The testimony provided here represents the collective views of our members, reflecting the concerns of 25 military and veterans’ organizations. These organizations represent over 3,500,000 members of the seven uniformed services, officer and enlisted, active duty, reserve, National Guard, retired and other veterans plus their families and survivors. These organizations whose top priority is a strong national defense are listed below:

Air Force Sergeants Association                      Naval Enlisted Reserve Association American
Military Retirees Association                          Naval Reserve Association
American Military Society                              Non Commissioned Officers Association
America Retirees Association                          Society of Medical Consultants
Catholic War Veterans                                   Society of Military Widows
Class Act Group                                           The Retired Enlisted Association
Gold Star Wives of America                            TREA Senior Citizen League
Korean War Veterans Foundation                     Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
Legion of Valor                                             Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees
Military Order of the Purple Heart                     Veterans of Foreign Wars
Military Order of the World Wars                     Vietnam Veterans of America
National Association for Uniformed Services       Women in Search of Equity
National Gulf War Resource Center
 

BACKGROUND

In 1952 the President of the United States asked the states and Congress to make changes to voting procedures to enable our troops fighting the Korean War to vote in the 1954 election. Now, a half-century later many of the problems that existed then still exist today.

When young men and women serving in the uniformed services, are defending our country and its free institutions, the Congress certainly has the authority to ensure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to fight to preserve.

Frankly, it is a disgrace that an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of the votes cast by our service personnel while deployed to remote locations away from their home states and districts are not counted because the procedures used by States and local election officials result in many ballots being disqualified - often for minor technical reasons.

CURRENT

Several members of Congress have recognized the need to fix the Military Absentee Voter problem and have introduced bills to improve absentee voting procedures and reduce the numbers of ballots that are disqualified because of technical difficulties.

H.R. 1377, the Military Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2001 introduced by Representatives Mac Thornberry, Duke Cunningham, Sam Johnson and Helen Tauscher would be a major step in improving the process. This legislative initiative provides for the Secretary of Defense to expand an electronic voting pilot program to test the system in the 2002 general election for the implementation of the ultimate solution – Electronic Voting. Furthermore, it:

A. Requires States to accept registration applications from absent uniformed service’s voters if received not less than 30 days prior to the election.

B. Prevents states from disqualifying a ballot for lack of timely submission if it was submitted no later than 30 days after the ballot was made available.

C. Guarantees residency protection for military personnel and their families.

D. Requires clear and convincing evidence of fraud before disqualifying a ballot for lack of postmarks, witness signatures, notary requirements or other similar identifying information.

E. Establishes the use of a single application for absentee ballots for all Federal Elections during an election cycle.

F. Extends coverage to recently separated uniformed service voters.

In brief, H.R. 1377 simplifies military absentee voting procedures and makes major strides toward making the process error proof.

VOTING PROBLEMS

It was reported that thousands of military overseas ballots were not counted in the November 2000 presidential election. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service and the Department of Defense, more than 40 percent of our troops on active duty are residents of states that have no specific legislative provisions protecting their right to vote in elections. The letter at Exhibit A, from MG. Kenneth Dohleman, USA (Retired), an election officer in Fairfax County, Virginia reflects some of the problems election officials face in counting absentee ballots.

 
CLOSING

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this committee, we want to thank you for taking a leadership role in reviewing overseas voting procedures. Passage of H.R. 1377 means America’s sons and daughters who serve in our Armed Forces will not have to wait another half century to enjoy a basic civil right that the rest of us take for granted!

“When our young people are defending our country and its free institutions, the least we can do is to make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to fight to preserve.”