The November 2008 general election is quickly approaching and time is running out to ensure your vote is counted to help decide who will lead our country into the future. U.S. service members are encouraged to exercise their right to vote through absentee balloting, which is part of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Eligible military personnel and family members eligible can vote through absentee ballots from within and outside of the United States.
In a memorandum to military secretaries and top commanders sent out on Nov. 26, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates underscored the importance of extending military absentee voting rights to service members at home and abroad. “It is important that the department and the services be prepared to carry out the voting assistance mission to inform and educate U.S. citizens of the right to vote, foster voting participation and protect the integrity of the electoral process,“ Secretary Gates wrote. “Voting is both a right and a responsibility of citizens in our country, leaders of the armed services must do everything we can to encourage participation and ensure that our service members and families are able to exercise their right to vote and have that vote counted.“
So as you can see, leaders in the highest levels of our military have stressed the high priority military absentee voting has.
So how do you register to vote? It's a simple process. Absentee voters fill out a federal postcard application form to request a ballot and send it to their local election office, where the voter is legally authorized to vote. A ballot will then be sent to the voter, who then marks the ballot and sends it back to the local election office. Military or family members who haven't done it before should talk to their unit's voting-assistance officer or visit the program's Web site, www.fvap.gov, for information and forms needed to register and apply for a ballot.
So why should you vote? Here are five reasons I feel are important.
(1) You live in a free, democratic society, and you have a fundamental right to choose who will represent you and make the decisions that will affect your life and career. That right doesn't go away because you live outside of your state of residence while serving your country. It's easy to have the “who cares, my vote doesn't matter“ attitude and never exercise your given right to take part in selecting your country's leaders. In some countries people are literally dying to cast a ballot and make a difference.
(2) To honor those in our military who courageously fight wars, and our law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency workers who respond to our needs and defend the peace at home. Those who sacrifice their personal well-being in the name of our safety and security deserve our respect. Voting is a way of giving them and their families our vote of confidence in their heroism.
(3) To recognize those who struggled for civil rights. Those who, after a lot of campaigning, marching and in some cases hunger strikes, made it possible for Americans, regardless of race, color, religion or sex, to have the right to vote. Voting is a way to assure that our rights are protected by strengthening the voices of those for whom rights are sacred and need to be defended.
(4) To speak your mind. Your vote is your way of telling elected officials how you feel about Social Security, health care, education and other important issues. By voting we send a signal of the importance of the choices we as adults make to secure a better future for ourselves, for our children as well as the generations who will follow them.
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