absentee

In January 2009, about two percent of young voters are or have been on active military duty. And if the size of young voters was around 44 million (PDF) in 2008, then that means roughly 880,000 have served in the military at some point in their lives. If all young military folks were combined into a state, they would be the 45th most populated state, just larger than Vice President Biden’s home state of Delaware.

With the continuing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially given President Obama’s recent order to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, young service members will continue to be abroad serving our country, making it difficult for them to participate in other meaningful ways at home. Voting is one of those ways. A new report by the Overseas Vote Foundation (PDF) on the 2008 election finds that:

“[m]ore than half (52%) of those who tried but could not vote, were unable to because their ballots were late or did not arrive.”

It’s important that active service members and veterans are able to vote, regardless of their stance on the war. Other issues such as veterans health care and educational loans, just to name a few, can be advocated through a representative. So, it’s imperative that folks who have more pressing issues (their day job) on their mind be able to vote easily and accurately.

There are several organizations working on the nexus of voting, military and youth. Some youth-specific groups, such as Rock the Vote and GoVoteAbsentee.org, helped to educate, register and get-out-the-vote of young service members. Military-focused organizations such as Vote Vets and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America also try to activate their communities. Youth Vote Overseas is one organization that directly targets young people abroad. The government runs the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) for overseas and military voters. Despite these efforts, more education and refining of voting rules and laws needs to happen to ensure young service members can exercise their constitutional right. The Overseas report finds that:

“[n]early one-quarter, 23.7%, of experienced overseas voters still have questions or problems when registering to vote.”

That percentage is likely higher for young service members since they are very new to the voting process, especially in a high-stress environment. Moreover, there were logistical problems:

“[l]ate ballot receipt is one of the most significant problems UOCAVA [Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act] voters faced. Of voters who received their ballots, 39 percent received them after mid-October, making it difficult for to return their ballots in time to be counted.”

If ballot did not arrive, deployed soliders are supposed to take advantage of FVAP’s Back-up Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, but the report finds that over half of overseas voters didn’t even know this back-up ballot was available.

Finally, the report recommends some ways to improve the voting process for overseas citizens are below, but two are especially noteworthy because the youth community is also pushing for legislation to secure election day registration and universal voter registration.

1. We call for ensuring the important role of UOCAVA
through legislative updates, in particular those that pursue
greater uniformity in the application of this key act.
2. We encourage adoption of the anticipated UOCAVA
Uniform Law intended to harmonize UOCAVA implementation
for overseas and military voters across all states
and territories.
3. We suggest the implementation of technology measures including
online ballot request for registered voters and online
blank ballot delivery to alleviate the transmission and
timing difficulties inherent in the UOCAVA equation.
4. We encourage innovation and investment in the Federal
Write-in Absentee Ballot and broadening the practice of
“Same Day Registration and Balloting” for UOCAVA
voters.
5. We underscore the importance of privacy and security
considerations when applying technology to UOCAVA
processes.
6. We propose a willingness to include UOCAVA voters
into any federal “universal voter registration”