Ohio Recognized For Efforts to Protect Military Voters

A Special Message From Congressman Ryan

“I am proud that Ohio has been recognized as one of the 15 All-Star States by the Military Voter Protection (MVP) Project’s 2012 Heroes Vote Initiative. I believe that voting rights are a cornerstone of the American dream and they should be fair and protected, especially to those who proudly serve our nation in the armed forces. This is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Voter Empowerment Act of 2012 which ensures and extends voting rights to all American civilians including our men and women in uniform. Members of the military and their families should have every availability that non service members enjoy when it comes to voting, and this is why I am pleased that Ohio has been extended this distinct honor by the MVP Project. I hope Ohio continues to lead by example so that the United States will have 50 All-Star states in the MVP Project’s 2013 Heroes Vote Initiative.”

 

For Immediate Release: July 17, 2012
Contact: Liz Snyder Bowman, 202-789-4365<tel:202-789-4365>

FIFTEEN STATES RECOGNIZED FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO PROTECT MILITARY VOTERS
Military Voter Protection Project announces its All-Star states

Military Voter Protection Project

WASHINGTON – The Military Voter Protection (MVP) Project<http://mvpproject.org/> today praised 15 states for their leadership in promoting and protecting the voting rights of America’s military service members and their families.  As part of the MVP Project’s 2012 Heroes Vote Initiative, 15 states have been named as All-Star states for their extraordinary efforts.

“These states are led by a tremendous group of state and local election officials who have made military voters a priority in elections.  They have provided the gold standard of leadership in the fight to promote and protect the voting rights of our heroes,” said Eric Eversole, founder and executive director of the MVP Project.  “We still have a long way to go, but these states are providing the example for other states to follow.”

The All-Star states include: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

In analyzing these states, the MVP Project looked at a number of factors including:

  • The state’s efforts to work with and reach out to local military installations   and National Guard units on a proactive basis to provide on-base voter assistance;
  • Its use of electronic and web-based services to send election materials;
  • Its willingness to create specialized communications to military voters either through public service announcements or web-based announcements;
  • The state’s legislative efforts to eliminate barriers to military voter participation; and
  • Its track record of making sure that absentee military ballots are sent out no later than 45-days before the election and, when they are not, a high degree of accountability to resolve any violations.

“We will continue to work with every state that is willing to make our military voters a priority and to provide them with the tools to participate in the election.  We hope that all 50 states will join our Heroes Vote Initiative as All-Star states.” said Eversole.

For more information about the Military Voter Protection Project’s Heroes Vote Initiative or to view details about the MVP Project’s All-Star states, please visit http://www.heroesvote.org/.

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