DES MOINES, Iowa - Brad Anderson, candidate for Iowa Secretary of State, announces his plan to strengthen military and overseas voting in Iowa elections.
"As Iowans, we are incredibly proud of our friends and family that have dedicated their lives to protecting our democracy and ensuring our right to vote," said Brad Anderson. "It is our responsibility to ensure that these service members are afforded one of the very rights they are sent overseas to defend. That's why the Office of the Secretary of State must be proactive in protecting the voting rights of overseas Iowans and modernize this process."
In 2008, the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation ranked Iowa first in the ease of military and overseas voting, but since that time our state has fallen behind and Iowa's Pew Elections Performance Index has gone from 5th in the nation in 2008 to 15th in 2012. Over the past three election cycles, Iowa has had among the highest rates of rejected military and overseas ballots - ranking 31st in the nation with nearly 6 percent of military ballots rejected while an additional 21 percent of requested ballots have simply remained unreturned.
"Iowa cannot continue to lose ground when it comes to military and overseas voting," added Anderson. "As our next Secretary of State, I will make it a priority to put Iowa back at the top in voter turnout and ease of voting for overseas Iowans."
Brad Anderson's Plan to Strengthen Military and Overseas Voting
1. PROACTIVELY REACH OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND IOWA NATIONAL GUARD TO DISCUSS WAYS TO IMPROVE THE EASE OF OVERSEAS VOTING. The Office of the Iowa Secretary of State must proactively engaging in conversations with the Iowa National Guard and Department of Defense to discuss what steps can be taken to guarantee all eligible voters are able to cast ballots, and most importantly that those votes are then counted. Establishing an educational program provided by the Office of Secretary of State on the process of casting a ballot overseas in the months leading up to deployment is one example of how this could be done.
2. UTILIZE 21ST CENTURY SOLUTIONS SUCH AS ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION. We must utilize 21st century solutions to improve the ease of military and overseas voting. A uniform system of online voter registration for all Iowans will quicken and simplify the process of registering to vote while also increasing participation among voters at home and overseas. Simplifying and modernizing the process of registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot can help to ensure military voters have the tools and information they need to participate in elections.
3. EXPAND THE USE OF THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT TO STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS. Recognizing the hardships service members face when voting overseas, Congress created the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) in 2009. The write-in ballot is a last resort for military voters who have requested an absentee ballot but have not received it by fourteen days before Election Day. The FWAB can simply be downloaded online and returned to the voter's county auditor by mail, email, or fax.
Expanding the use of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot to state and local elections will ensure that our members of the armed forces are able to vote in elections for everything from president of the United States to city council members, even in the case of unforeseen circumstances. It is time to let overseas Iowans use the FWAB to vote in all elections, including state and local elections.
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"As Iowans, we are incredibly proud of our friends and family that have dedicated their lives to protecting our democracy and ensuring our right to vote," said Brad Anderson. "It is our responsibility to ensure that these service members are afforded one of the very rights they are sent overseas to defend. That's why the Office of the Secretary of State must be proactive in protecting the voting rights of overseas Iowans and modernize this process."
In 2008, the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation ranked Iowa first in the ease of military and overseas voting, but since that time our state has fallen behind and Iowa's Pew Elections Performance Index has gone from 5th in the nation in 2008 to 15th in 2012. Over the past three election cycles, Iowa has had among the highest rates of rejected military and overseas ballots - ranking 31st in the nation with nearly 6 percent of military ballots rejected while an additional 21 percent of requested ballots have simply remained unreturned.
"Iowa cannot continue to lose ground when it comes to military and overseas voting," added Anderson. "As our next Secretary of State, I will make it a priority to put Iowa back at the top in voter turnout and ease of voting for overseas Iowans."
Brad Anderson's Plan to Strengthen Military and Overseas Voting
1. PROACTIVELY REACH OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND IOWA NATIONAL GUARD TO DISCUSS WAYS TO IMPROVE THE EASE OF OVERSEAS VOTING. The Office of the Iowa Secretary of State must proactively engaging in conversations with the Iowa National Guard and Department of Defense to discuss what steps can be taken to guarantee all eligible voters are able to cast ballots, and most importantly that those votes are then counted. Establishing an educational program provided by the Office of Secretary of State on the process of casting a ballot overseas in the months leading up to deployment is one example of how this could be done.
2. UTILIZE 21ST CENTURY SOLUTIONS SUCH AS ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION. We must utilize 21st century solutions to improve the ease of military and overseas voting. A uniform system of online voter registration for all Iowans will quicken and simplify the process of registering to vote while also increasing participation among voters at home and overseas. Simplifying and modernizing the process of registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot can help to ensure military voters have the tools and information they need to participate in elections.
3. EXPAND THE USE OF THE FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT TO STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS. Recognizing the hardships service members face when voting overseas, Congress created the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) in 2009. The write-in ballot is a last resort for military voters who have requested an absentee ballot but have not received it by fourteen days before Election Day. The FWAB can simply be downloaded online and returned to the voter's county auditor by mail, email, or fax.
Expanding the use of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot to state and local elections will ensure that our members of the armed forces are able to vote in elections for everything from president of the United States to city council members, even in the case of unforeseen circumstances. It is time to let overseas Iowans use the FWAB to vote in all elections, including state and local elections.
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