• The Military Vote Coalition (MVC) is urging election officials to comply with the 45-day deadline for sending ballots to absent uniformed and overseas voters.
  • 10 MVC signatories are also petitioning states with high concentrations of military families to make an exception to policy, allowing more to volunteer as poll workers this election.
  • MVC is hosting a launch event this afternoon​ to promote voter participation among military and veteran families, featuring Jocelyn Benson, Nate Boyer, Jason Kander and Tonya Wright.

Today, the Military Vote Coalition (MVC) is taking action to protect our constituency’s access to the ballot box. First, the group (composed of 15 military family and veteran service organizations) sent a letter to every state’s election officials across the country, reminding them to comply with the 45-day deadline for sending ballots to absent military voters.

“Complying with this legal requirement will be especially crucial this year. Due to COVID-19, postal mail delivery across the world has faced delays, and almost 80 countries have suspended their international postal delivery services altogether.​ For UOCAVA voters, any delay in receiving their ballots risks disenfranchising them from participating in the very democratic process they have sworn to defend,” the letter reads. 

Next, ten of the MVC participants are also asking states with high military populations to pass an accommodation to allow military servicemembers and their families to serve as poll workers, even if they are not registered to vote in the state where they seek to volunteer.

MVC’s Founder and the Director of Secure Families Initiative Sarah Streyder said, “In an election where poll worker shortages are prevalent, we believe exceptions should be made to residency rules in order to allow military service members and family members to volunteer.”

“It’s crucially important that military families have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote, regardless of where they may be stationed around the world,” said Jennifer Dane, interim executive director of the Modern Military Association of America — the nation’s largest LGBTQ military and veteran nonprofit organization. “Our service members and their families are sacrificing so much to defend our nation, and the least we can do is ensure they are able to make their voice heard at the ballot box. We are proud to partner with the Military Vote Coalition on these important actions to ensure military families are able to vote and also contribute to their local communities.”

Finally, on Tuesday, September 1 at 4:00PM ET, MVC is hosting a launch event to promote voter participation among military and veteran families. The event will feature several guest speakers including:

  • Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State and veteran spouse
  • Nate Boyer, former NFL player and veteran
  • Jason Kander, former Missouri Secretary of State and veteran
  • Tonya Wright, spouse of the 18th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and veteran

This event is open to the public.

About the Military Vote Coalition: We are a nonpartisan coalition of fifteen military family and veteran support organizations, united by our mission to protect this constituency’s access to the ballot box through advocacy and outreach. For a list of current participants and more information, visit www.MilitaryVotingCoalition.org.

###