National Summit Participants Praise New Ballot As A Solution To Continuing Problems For Americans Away From Home Who Want To Vote WASHINGTON, Sept. 15
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- An estimated six million Americans
who are members of the military or live overseas have a new way to ensure
their vote for president counts this November, according to experts speaking
at a high-level summit on military and overseas voters. Attended by members of
Congress, secretaries of state and other election officials, "Democracy at a
Distance: A Summit to Make Voting Work for Military and Overseas Voters" was
convened by the Pew Center on the States, in collaboration with the JEHT
Foundation.
At the summit, Pew and the Overseas Vote Foundation launched a new online
tool that allows voters to complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot
(FWAB) more easily and with fewer errors. This tool can be used by Americans
covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act who have
requested an absentee ballot from election officials but have not yet received
it.
The need to help military and overseas voters is supported by a new
bipartisan Tarrance/Lake poll commissioned by the Pew Center on the States and
released at the summit. It found 96% of Americans believe it's important that
these voters get the chance to participate and vote in U.S. elections. The
poll results also show that 81% of Americans favor creating a uniform national
set of rules for military and overseas voters.
The new FWAB tool, available at www.overseasvotefoundation.org, provides
an immediate solution for registered voters whose ballots are late or lost in
transit. The site offers easy access to the "Vote-Print-Mail" system.
"Military and overseas voters do not share an equal opportunity to vote,"
said Michael Caudell-Feagan, director of Make Voting Work, a project of the
Pew Center on the States. "According to research from the U.S. Election
Assistance Commission, only one-third of the nearly one million ballots mailed
to these voters were cast or counted in the 2006 general election. FWAB is a
powerful tool for these voters."
"It is unacceptable in this day and age that administrative hurdles should
impede the counting of overseas military and civilian votes," said Nicole
Gordon, vice president of the JEHT Foundation, which has supported the
Overseas Vote Foundation in efforts to partner with states to facilitate the
registration process for overseas voters. "The launch of the FWAB tool is a
significant step in easing and modernizing this outdated process."
The FWAB tool works by matching users' 9-digit zip code for their U.S.
residence to their voting district. The system automatically presents
candidate lists for federal races in one's district. Voters select their
candidates for office and then download, print, sign and send the FWAB into
the local election office.
"Through our help desk, I've heard thousands of stories from voters who
have been frustrated during presidential campaigns as they anxiously waited
for their absentee ballots to arrive," said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat,
President and CEO of Overseas Vote Foundation. "The new FWAB tool replaces
that worry with an immediate, user-friendly, online and secure process that
overseas and military voters from all 50 states and the District of Columbia
can use."
For more information about the challenges facing overseas voters, visit
pewcenteronthestates.org and download "Military and Overseas Citizen Voting
Project," an overview developed by the Pew Center on the States.
Make Voting Work, a project of the Pew Center on the States, seeks to
foster an election system that achieves the highest standards of accuracy,
accessibility, efficiency and security. The initiative examines the most
pressing election problems, and undertakes and evaluates pilot projects and
experiments designed to address them. This research will inform our efforts to
identify effective solutions through changes in policies, practices and
technology.
The Pew Charitable Trusts applies the power of knowledge to solve today's
most challenging problems. Our Pew Center on the States identifies and
advances effective policy approaches to critical issues facing states. Online
at pewcenteronthestates.org.
The JEHT Foundation was established in April 2000. Its name stands for the
core values that underlie the Foundation's mission: Justice, Equality, Human
dignity and Tolerance. The Foundation focuses on criminal and juvenile
justice, international justice, and fair and participatory elections. Working
directly with states, in some cases in-depth, is a key part of the Foundation
strategy to implement practical change related to its mission.
JEHT's Fair and Participatory Elections program promotes the integrity and
fairness of democratic elections in the United States. The Foundation works
with state and other government officials and entities, researchers, and non-
partisan reformers to insure technical integrity of elections by
professionalizing the administration of elections, insulating them from
partisan political control, and supporting independent structures to oversee
elections and related functions.
SOURCE Pew Center on the States
