October 8, 2008 – Last week Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA-22), and 28 other members of Congress sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi requesting that she quickly move and pass H.R. 5673, the Military Voting Protection Act of 2008, to ensure overseas military had an opportunity to successfully vote in this year’s election. Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat majority refused to quickly move the bill to the floor and pass it before the House adjourned for recess.

Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02): “Our democratic system which the noble men and women of our Armed Forces are fighting to protect is grounded on the right to elect our national leaders.  Our troops have fought, bled, and died to protect that right and if anyone deserves to have their vote counted, it is them.  Knowing that we have experienced problems with counting the absentee ballots from our soldiers, Speaker Pelosi and Democrat leadership have no excuse for disenfranchising our overseas military. They cannot say they simply ran out of time before we adjourned. The Senate made time to pass the identical bill two days before we adjourned.”

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06): “It’s very sad that the House leadership blocked a vote on a bill approved by the Senate that would make it easier for American soldiers deployed in harm’s way to vote in federal elections.  In 2006, only one-third of the absentee ballots requested by soldiers were counted because the current system is too cumbersome and complicated.”
 
Congressman Phil Gingrey (GA-11): “In the last election cycle, 992,000 of our servicemen and women overseas requested absentee ballots, yet only 330,000 were counted on election day.  Given the many national security challenges facing our country and their impact on our men and women in uniform, this Congress should do everything in our power to ensure that those who are so bravely serving our nation have a voice in this November’s election and that their absentee ballots are delivered in a timely fashion.  It is truly a shame that despite the Senate’s passage of legislation that would have addressed this discrepancy last week, Speaker Pelosi missed an opportunity to stand up for our servicemen and women by putting this bill on the House calendar.  Quite simply, those who sacrifice so much for our freedoms deserve our fullest support – not to be treated as an election-year afterthought.”

Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21): “Congress has a responsibility to protect the voting rights of every American, especially those who are currently serving in our military overseas.  But the current system for obtaining overseas ballots is broken.  Inefficient mail systems, complex state and local regulations, delayed receipts of registration forms and absentee ballots prevent thousands of American soldiers from casting their votes.   The refusal of House Democrats to fix this process so American soldiers can practice their Constitutional right to vote shows a blatant disrespect for our men and women in the Armed Services.  American soldiers deserve better from Congress.”
 
Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02): “The brave men and women of our military sign up to defend this nation and to protect our rights as citizens to participate in our democracy, to vote, and to determine the leadership of our nation.  In turn, they deserve a system of overseas and absentee balloting that is flexible and responsive to their needs, so they can participate in the democratic process they have sacrificed for and pledged to defend.  We must not let any of our nation’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines be disenfranchised by a failure of Congress to act.”
 
Congressman Bill Sali (ID-01): “All citizens deserve the chance to vote, but perhaps none more than those who are wearing the uniform of our country.  America’s service men and women should have full and ready access to the ballot box, and efforts to prevent them are disgraceful.  Instead of addressing this concern before we left Washington, Speaker Pelosi still found the time to consider votes to name 125 post offices and establish a national watermelon month. This is just another example of Congress' mixed up priorities.”
 
Congressman Jo Bonner (AL-01): "Our right to vote was secured through the sacrifice and bloodshed of our nation's military.  Every reasonable option should be made available to enable these brave men and women to exercise the very right for which they have sacrificed so much to achieve."

Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05): “It is fundamentally unfair that so many of our military men and women don’t have their votes counted in our national elections. While they are overseas, often in harms way, the least we can do, is make it easy for them to vote. I join my Republican colleagues in urging the Democrat leadership to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that our military members overseas can vote with more ease and convenience.”