News and Press Releases :: October 15, 2010

McKeon Calls on States to Ensure Military Ballots Are Collected and Counted

Washington, D.C.—Amid media reports that some states have failed to mail ballots to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas in a timely manner, U.S. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) today called on state governments which failed to comply with federal voting laws to hold open impacted elections until military ballots can be collected and counted.

“The failure of some states to mail out ballots to service members deployed overseas, including some who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a timely manner is unconscionable.  Our troops are laying their lives on the line and should not be denied the right to vote,” said McKeon," McKeon said.

“Any state that was delinquent in mailing ballots to our military personnel has a responsibility to ensure military ballots are collected and counted.  Our warfighters have earned the right to vote and we can’t allow their voices to be disenfranchised,” concluded McKeon."

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which has been enacted into law, included a provision mandating that a state must send out its military ballots 45 days prior to an election."     

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