July 22, 2011
In 2009 Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) to provide active duty military members and their voting age dependents with greater opportunities to vote. Now that the 2010 elections have passed, the question is: did the MOVE Act work?
Military Families United’s Military Voter Protection Project answers that question in a new report, Military Voting in 2010: A Step Forward, But A Long Way To Go. In the report–which was published in cooperation with the AMVETS Legal Clinic at the Chapman University School of Law–MVP Project Executive Director Eric Eversole provided evidence that while the MOVE Act made strides forward, more must be done to protect the voting rights of our men and women in uniform and to provide them with greater opportunities to register an absentee ballot. Download the report.
The report was also featured at a Military Voting Rights Conference hosted by Military Families United and The Heritage Foundation on July 19 in Washington, D.C. In addition to Eric Eversole, speakers included Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., USN (ret.), and many more experts in the field of elections and voting rights. Watch highlights of the Military Voting Rights Conference.
July 19, 2011
The MOVE Act, like previous voting rights laws, was supposed to help military members exercise their right to vote. The MOVE Act, however, cannot succeed in delivering on its promise until it is fully implemented and enforced. President Obama has a clear opportunity to help deliver the promise of the MOVE Act, but his Administration must be willing to make the issue a priority. It must address the shortcomings from the 2010 election and ensure a top-down commitment from the President’s agencies to promote and protect U.S. service members’ voting rights. At a time when members of America’s military are in harm’s way in remote parts of the world, this nation should spare no expense or effort in making sure that the MOVE Act’s promise is realized.
The difficulties associated with military voting, especially during periods of prolonged conflict, have long existed. From the Civil War to World War II to America’s current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the logistical challenges associated with delivering absentee ballots to a war zone have been significant and undeniable. They are not, however, insurmountable.
President Obama has a clear opportunity to help deliver on the promise of the MOVE Act, but his Administration must be willing to make the issue a priority. It must address the shortcomings from the 2010 election and ensure a top-down commitment from the President’s agencies to promote and protect U.S. service members’ voting rights. At a time when members of America’s military are in harm’s way in remote parts of the world, this nation should spare no expense or effort in making sure that the MOVE Act’s promise is realized.
The full memorandum is available HERE.
July 19, 2011
We have just returned from a very informative and successful conference on military voting held at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC. The MVP Project, a program of Military Families United, was proud to present our report, the same report you can download HERE, and participate in this conference. Our men and women in uniform can no longer be disenfranchised, and this conference was a step in the right direction to ensure they receive ballots, vote, and have their votes counted for every election.
We were honored to welcome Senator John Cornyn to address the audience at the conference. Senator Cornyn, like the MVP Project, wants nothing more than for the vote of every service member to be cast and counted. In conjunction with speaking at the conference Senator Cornyn also sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to proactively enforce the MOVE Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to prevent further disenfranchisement of service members and their families. Click HERE to read Senator Cornyn’s letter in full.
The simple truth is this: while positive strides were made thanks in large part to the MOVE Act, there is still much more to be done to ensure the vote of every man and women in uniform, regardless of their location in the world, is counted. I salute Senator Cornyn for his effort and his dedication to our military and their right to vote, and I know you will do the same.
Thank you,
Eric Eversole
Founder & Executive Director, MVP Project
July 16, 2011
San Antonio Express-News
Gloria Padilla’s column (“Ballots for military causing headaches,” July 9) noted the frustration of Bexar County election officials over a new state law for military voters. The article blindly passes by the real culprit of those headaches. It’s not the new military voting law…. Read More
July 12, 2011
Washington, DC – The Military Voter Protection Project (MVP Project), a program of Military Families United, along with AMVETS Legal Clinic at Chapman University School of Law has released a report on the treatment of military voters in 2010. The report exposes the difficulties faced by our men and women in uniform when they attempt to vote and the need for immediate action before the 2012 elections.
After every federal election, states collect data regarding the total number of military voters that request and return an absentee ballot, as well as the total number of ballots that were counted. The report collected data from 24 states with the largest percentage of military voters, including Texas, California and Florida. The data shows:
- Of the nearly 2 million military voters residing in the states covered by the report, only 89,887 or 4.6 percent cast an absentee ballot that counted in 2010.
- While 310,625 military voters requested an absentee ballot in 2010, only 31 percent of those ballots were returned to be counted by local election officials.
- There were widespread failures by federal officials—in particular, the Department of Justice—to implement and enforce a new federal law designed to protect military voters. These failures had a clear and undeniable impact on military voters.
“The data says it all—it is disappointing that military voters continue to have their voices silenced on Election Day,” said Eric Eversole, Founder and Executive Director of the MVP Project. Eversole, a veteran of the Navy JAG Corps added, “If we are going to turn this ship around, it has to be a top priority for both the states and the Administration.”
Professor Kyndra Rotunda, who directs Chapman’s AMVETS Legal Clinic, said “We are delighted to co-publish this important research and we are proud of the Chapman and Berkeley Law students who uncovered the raw data behind it.”
“The vote of every man and women in uniform must be counted, regardless of their location in the world,” said Robert Jackson, Executive Director of Military Families United. Jackson, also a Navy veteran added, “Our service members sacrifice far too much for the freedom and rights of all Americans and that includes their right to vote. This report is an important first step in identifying the problems faced by our military voters and will allow the MVP Project to begin its critical efforts to protect the voting rights of our military members in 2012.”
A full copy of the report is available HERE.
July 12, 2011
The Washington Times
The Justice Department’s program for handling military absentee ballots suffers from major flaws, and a survey revealed low turnout among military voters in the 2010 mid-term elections, according to a report by a private group made public on Tuesday…. Read More
July 12, 2011
National Review Online
Members of the U.S. military and their families who were stationed overseas during the 2010 elections were disfranchised at an alarmingly high rate, according to a new report released today by the Military Voter Protection Project…. Read More
October 29, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge in Maryland today granted the Military Voter Protection Project’s request for a preliminary injunction to ensure that Maryland’s military members have sufficient time to vote in November. Under the terms of the order, the Maryland State Board of Elections will be required to count all military and overseas absentee ballots so long as the ballot has been cast on or before Election Day and is returned by 5:00 p.m. on November 22, 2010.
The MVP Project filed this case after the Maryland State Board of Elections sent military voters an absentee ballot that only contained federal races. While the State Board subsequently mailed absentee ballots with both federal and state races, these ballots were not mailed until October 8, 2010. The MVP Project argued that the federal only ballot did not comply with federal or state law. As for the October 8 ballot, the MVP Project argued that military members would not have sufficient time to receive and return their absentee ballots, especially if they were serving in a war zone.
The federal judge agreed with the MVP Project’s constitutional argument. In particular, the court pointed to well established mail delivery times to war zones, which indicate that mail delivery to and from a war zone may take as much as 36 days. The court further noted that even after the mail arrives in Iraq or Afghanistan, there is no guarantee that the military member will receive it that day. The court determined that Maryland simply failed to provide military voters with sufficient time to receive and return their state absentee ballots. This failure, according to the court, placed an unconstitutional burden on their right to vote.
“We are thrilled with the court’s decision today,” said Eric Eversole, the Executive Director of the MVP Project. “The decision helps to ensure that our men and women in uniform, even those stationed in war zones, will have time to vote in all Maryland elections—not just federal races. It merely provides a little extra time for their ballots to be returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the least we can do for them.”
The Military Voter Protection Project is a project of Military Families United. For more information about the organization and its mission, please visit www.mvpproject.org.
October 25, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Department of Justice has once again failed our military voters-this time in Illinois.
Last Friday, the Justice Department and the Illinois State Board of Elections filed a consent decree to remedy widespread violations of our service members’ right to vote in Illinois. Not only does the proposed agreement fail to address violations in numerous counties, it provides no meaningful relief for thousands of military members in the State of Illinois.
The widespread nature of Illinois’s failure to protect military voters is beyond dispute. According to State Board officials, at least 35 counties in the state failed to mail absentee ballots at least 45 days before the November election, as required by the Military and Overseas Vote Empowerment Act (MOVE Act). At least 6 of these counties mailed absentee ballots more than two weeks after the September 18, 2010 deadline.
Unfortunately, the consent decree does little or nothing to remedy these clear violations of law. In a vast majority of the counties, the decree does nothing more than extend the deadline for postmarking absentee ballots from November 1, 2010 to November 2, 2010. In the 6 counties with the worst violations, the consent decree also extends the deadline for receiving absentee ballots by 1 to 3 days.
“We have no idea how the Department thinks that this decree enforces the law or protects military voters,” said Eric Eversole, the Executive Director of the Military Voter Protection Project. “In 65 counties that complied with the law, military voters in Illinois had nearly 60 days to receive and return their absentee ballots. However, if you are a service member that lived in a county that clearly violated the law, you received something far less. It doesn’t make any sense.”
While the consent decree was signed by the federal district court judge on Friday in Chicago, the Illinois Republican Party has indicated that it may ask the judge to re-open the case and ask for equal treatment of military voters throughout the state.
The Military Voter Protection Project is a project of Military Families United, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information about the organization and its mission, please visit www.mvpproject.org.
