True the Vote Calls on Citizens to Help Protect the Ballots of U.S. Military Serving Overseas

As Military Ballot Mailing Deadline Approaches, True the Vote Encourages Citizens to Use 'Call Your County' Resource to Ensure Counties Comply

HOUSTON, Texas – September 19, 2020 marks the 45-day requirement before a federal election for local election administrators across the U.S. to mail out absentee ballots to U.S. military and overseas voters. This federal requirement passed as part of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act in 2009, which amended the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986. Yet, the votes of tens of thousands military members serving our nation, their families, and overseas citizens remain at risk of not being counted each election.

"Every American has the right to vote, including the two million active-duty and reserve military personnel defending our freedoms around the world," said Catherine Engelbrecht, founder and president of True the Vote. "Unfortunately, far too many states and counties across the nation send out absentee ballots after the 45-day mailing deadline has passed, giving our military servicemembers no chance to participate.

"That's why True the Vote is encouraging citizens to call their counties on behalf of the brave men and women serving overseas to ensure their local election administrators mailed out military ballots by the September 19 deadline," Engelbrecht continued. "Our military has dealt with broken and inefficient election processes long enough. It's time to take control of our elections and take matters into our own hands."

True the Vote is raising awareness about the military ballot deadline this week and also encouraging citizens to take action to ensure counties comply. Citizens can visit the Call Your County section on the website and reach out to their local election administrator based on the information True the Vote provides to make sure military ballots are mailed before September 19 so our troops can vote.

The effort aims to alleviate some of the challenges that American military and overseas voters face when it comes to voting from abroad. A 2018 post-election report provided to Congress by the Federal Voting Assistance Program found election offices sent 655,409 absentee ballots to military and overseas voters and only received 344,392 returned ballots. In the 2018 general election, only 53 percent of the ballots sent to military and overseas voters were successfully counted.

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True the Vote (TTV) is an IRS-designated 501(c)3 voters' rights organization, founded to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.