2-24-12

47 States and DC Improve Military Overseas Voting

In the past two years, 47 states and the District of Columbia enacted laws to protect the voting rights of military and overseas citizens, according to a report recently released by the Pew Center on the States. The 2012 election will be the first time these changes affect the process of voting for a president.

Reform efforts gained momentum following the introduction of an FRA-supported bill by Senator Charles Schumer (N.Y.). “The Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment Act” (S. 1415) included a provision that requires all states to provide military voters with ballots no later than 45 days prior to each election, to ensure adequate time to complete and return them.  The bill also allowed states and D.C. to transmit ballots to voters electronically and eliminated requirements for notarization and witnesses.

FRA, Pew and other organizations worked together as part of the Alliance of Military and Oversea Voter Registration to ensure that S. 1415 was enacted as part of the FY 2010 NDAA.

For more information on voting, go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website.