Hearing Of The Senate Rules And Administration Committee - "Military And Overseas Voter Empowerment Act."

Statement

Statement Of Charles E. Schumer

Hearing: S. 1415, A Bill Introduced By Senators Schumer, Chambliss, And Nelson (NE), The "Military And Overseas Voter Empowerment Act."

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

First, I would like to thank the Ranking Member, my friend Senator Robert Bennett, for being here today for this markup, and for his dedication to helping the men and women who serve overseas in our armed forces.

I would also like to recognize and thank Senator Saxby Chambliss, an original co-sponsor with me of this bipartisan bill, and a member of the Armed Services Committee, who shares my commitment to ensuring that Americans serving and living overseas can participate fully in the electoral process.

I would like to thank Rules Committee member Ben Nelson, who is Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel and Readiness, for his co-sponsorship and hard work on this legislation, and his dedication to our troops.

Another Senator I want to mention is Senator John Cornyn, who is not a member of the Rules Committee but who has been a strong and committed advocate for military voters and has previously introduced legislation to help military voters. I appreciate his interest in the bill we are considering today.

On May 13 of this year, the Rules Committee held a hearing on the obstacles faced by military and overseas voters. I released a survey commissioned from the Congressional Research Service which revealed that one in four of the ballots requested by troops deployed overseas went uncounted in the 2008 Election.

Studies from previous elections show that military and overseas voters have one of the lowest levels of turnout of all groups - because it is so hard for them to vote. It is even hard for them to register to vote - reportedly only 65% of U.S. military personnel are registered compared to up to 84% of the population as a whole.

We have found that potential military and overseas voters often don't know how to register or request an absentee ballot; states mail out paper ballots without enough time for them to be received and returned by mail; and far too many returned ballots are thrown out for non-election related technicalities, such as being on the wrong paper or not being notarized, even from places where notaries don't exist.
This is simply unacceptable, and we are here to change it. In an age of instantaneous global communications, there is no reason not to use technology to help members of the military, their families, and millions of other Americans living, working, and volunteering in foreign countries exercise their right to vote. If the Department of Defense can get tanks, high-tech equipment and food to the front lines of combat, we can figure out a way to deliver an election ballot to our troops.
Let me be very clear: This cannot wait.

Senators Chambliss and Nelson and I have introduced this legislation to overturn the barriers military and overseas voters encounter as they fight for our freedom and serve our nation away from home. We have received input from a number of groups and Senators and have worked to incorporate their comments and concerns into making this as good a bipartisan bill as possible.

S. 1415 will amend the 1986 UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting) Act and bring it into the 21st century. We will use the Internet and other methods to speed up the process for voters outside the U.S., and to make sure their votes count.

This issue is an urgent priority and I hope we will take a major step forward today by clearing this bill through our Committee.

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