Casten Proposes Measure to Protect Ballot Access for Overseas Service Members
Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced the Military Voter Overseas Technical Enhancement (VOTE) Act, legislation to eliminate the bureaucratic hurdles that often hinder American servicemembers’ ability to vote while overseas on active duty.
“Our service members defend our democracy abroad; they shouldn't have to fight to participate in it at home,” said Rep. Casten. “For too long, outdated absentee processes have effectively disenfranchised those in uniform. The Military VOTE Act modernizes this system, ensuring that a transition in duty station never means a loss of their fundamental right to vote.”
“The introduction of the Military VOTE Act marks a significant step forward in modernizing access for eligible military and overseas voters,” said Sam Oliker-Friedland, CEO of Responsive Gov Action. “By implementing commonsense reforms, the men, women, and families who sacrifice so much for our freedoms will face fewer burdens to exercising their right to vote. If passed, the bill will also ease administrative burdens, provide funding for election officials, and include a study of automatic voter registration for American service members. Congress must now build on this momentum to ensure the right to vote remains accessible for all service members, their families, and overseas citizens, and I thank Congressman Casten for his leadership on this initiative."
The 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to allow military members on active duty stationed away from their voting residence, their eligible family members, and other overseas citizens to vote via absentee ballot in federal elections.
However, members of the Armed Forces often face barriers to full participation as voters, particularly as they move between duty sites domestically and around the world. In 2022, 26% of military voters participated in the election, as compared to 48% of all voting-eligible Americans. Many who would have voted reported that the process of requesting an absentee ballot and not receiving a ballot prevented them from voting.
The Military VOTE Act remedies this issue by requiring states to accept voter registration and absentee ballot requests online or by email. It ensures ballots are sent electronically by default if a voter hasn’t selected a preference, guarantees absentee ballots for all future elections without the need to reapply, and prohibits rejecting applications simply because they were submitted early.
Specifically, the Military VOTE Act would:
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Require acceptance of voter registration and absentee requests online or by email;
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Require that states send ballots electronically by default when a voter hasn’t selected a preference;
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Require that states provide absentee ballots for at least two federal elections, and for all elections thereafter if the voter receives their blank ballot electronically, without needing to reapply once a voter registers and requests an absentee ballot;
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Prohibit absentee ballot application rejections based on early submission; and
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Task the Department of Defense with improving voter information for service members and studying automatic registration when they join or move.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
A one-page summary can be found here.
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