According to three Republican Congressmen, the Pentagon shirks its duty to provide active military personnel with the basic resources needed to vote.
Reps. Brian Mast, Mike Waltz, and Bill Huizenga all signed a joint letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting more resources for the service members.
The letter says: “We urge that you mobilize all necessary resources in the next seven working days so that every American wearing the uniform of our nation has the chance to vote if they wish to do so. This is done according to all state and federal regulations regarding elections.”
The letter continues to say that some of the fighting men and women had requested write-in ballots for absentee voting, only to find out that the Biden-Harris Department of Defense didn’t even have any left.
The letter continued: “Our brave men and woman in uniform have brought to our notice that there is inadequate education on the administrative level about how to register to cast a ballot, request an absentee vote, and complete a federal write-in absentee voting form if the state-issued ballot doesn’t arrive in time.”
Other service members have also reported that they were told by the base staff when they requested a federal absentee write-in ballot, that their stockpile was exhausted and not replenished.
Talk about disenfranchising voters. The very people who die and fight for others’ rights to vote.
What is the probability that they will be able to provide our soldiers with absentee voting and educational materials on how to vote two days before Election Day if they weren’t able to do so when the letter was sent out?
There are two words to describe this, disgusting and despicable. Sadly it appears the Pentagon, meaning the Biden-Harris administration views our men and women in uniform deployed are garbage and don’t deserve their right to vote. #election #elections https://t.co/LmE67TXY8C
— Allen West (@AllenWest) November 2, 2024
Mast noted in a separate press release that the Biden and Harris administrations spent years fighting against the efforts of Republican legislators in various states to ensure the integrity of elections, but did not have the resources necessary to defend the voting rights of active military personnel.
He said: “They claim that they care about democracy, and the right to vote. Yet they have failed to plan in a way to ensure the right to voting for all the brave men and woman in uniform who serve our nation,” he added. “This is unacceptable.”
The elite warriors of our nation deserve every chance to vote for the new commander-in-chief since he or she will make life-and-death decisions for our soldiers.
Mast understands, above all, what it is to sacrifice for basic American rights. He served in Operation Enduring Freedom and was an Afghanistan war vet. After stepping on an IED, he lost both of his legs and the index finger.
He has received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
Recent research by the Pew Research Centre may shed some light on why the Pentagon neglects voting resources for military personnel and absentee votes.
Military veterans have long been a source of support for Republican candidates, especially the one that affects their lives directly — the president. The report notes that military vets back Donald Trump (R) over Kamala Harris (D) by a very wide margin — a 61 percent to 37 percent margin, with most noting that Trump’s policies “would make things better for veterans.”
YouGov’s poll shows that veterans and active military are more likely than Harris to believe Trump (51%) cares about veterans and service members.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP’s) research shows that military members face the greatest barriers to voting due to the inability to obtain an absentee vote and the lack of educational resources about how to vote.
