FVAP & The Council of State Governments Our Road Ahead
Voting Assistance Absent Uniformed Services personnel Families Overseas citizens
UOCAVA Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (1986) More than 4.3 million U.S. citizens living, studying, and working overseas 1.3 million absent members of the Uniformed Services and Merchant Marines 700,000 plus eligible family members of the Uniformed Services and Merchant Marines
Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act (2009) FVAP Online assistants Guidance to Military Services for Installation Voter Assistance Offices Guidance to State and local election officials Voter education and outreach campaigns States 45-day requirement Electronic transmission Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB)
UOCAVA Voting Challenges Mobile Population Time Transit Complexity States run elections 55 sets of laws
UOCAVA Voting Process Voting by absentee ballot Registration to vote is required Request an absentee ballot at FVAP.gov Sign and send the request to your local election office Election official sends ballot Receive your absentee ballot Vote, sign and return the ballot to your local election official
Addressing Complexity What informati on do I need to provide? How can I return my ballot? How can I receive my ballot? Do I really need a witness? How can I submit my FPCA? Can I vote in local elections? What s the deadline to register to vote? Do I need to provide my full SSN? When will I receive my ballot?
Legally Prescribed Forms - FPCA and FWAB PREVIOUS EDITIONS ARE OBSOLETE. PREVIOUS EDITIONS ARE OBSOLETE.
How does FVAP provide voting assistance? Informs election officials Provides tools and resources Reduces obstacles
Effective Absentee System for Elections (EASE) Grants Grant Recipients: Arkansas Arizona Bexar County, TX Boone County, MO (all MO) California Colorado City of Chicago, IL City of Detroit, MI District of Columbia Dallas County, TX El Dorado County, CA (13 counties) Harris County, TX King County, WA (11 counties) Kitsap County, WA (16 counties) Idaho Louisiana Maricopa County, AZ Maryland Nevada Michigan Minnesota Montana New Jersey New Mexico New York Ohio Okaloosa County, FL (34 counties) Orange County, FL Oregon Rhode Island Rockwall County, TX (50 counties) Travis County, TX San Bernardino County, CA Santa Cruz County, CA South Carolina South Dakota and Nebraska Utah Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin
FVAP Resources State Chief Election Official Interaction
FVAP Resources Election Official Training Module
FVAP Resources FVAP.gov Online assistants Postage-paid indicia Training modules
2014 Preparations
Social Media Twitter @FVAP Facebook.com/DoD FVAP
Voting is Easy
Check Boxes
Opinions
Rifleman's Creed
Who is responsible for what? Service Secretary Senior Service Voting Representative (SSVR) Senior Voting Action Officer (SVAO) Installation Voting Assistance Officer (IVAO) Installation Voter Assistance Office (IVA Office) Unit Voting Assistance Officer (UVACO) Oversees the voting assistance program Implements Service-wide voting assistance programs Assists the SSVR responsible for Service voting assistance operations Coordinates voting programs conducted by subordinate unites Serves as Voter Registration Agency on military installation Assists UOCAVA voters within their units
Reporting Requirement After Federal elections, FVAP reports to Congress and the President on: Registration Participation Effectiveness of activities
Lessons From 2012 The role of marital status in voting behavior The relationship between DoD voting resources and voting propensity Overall, low awareness
Questions? More information: FVAP.gov vote@fvap.gov 1800-438-VOTE (8683) Connect with us: @FVAP Facebook.com/DoDFVAP
U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services Senior Voting Action Officer Mark Raugust US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs
Assistance for U.S. Citizens Abroad Arrests Crisis Response Medical Emergencies Welfare/Whereabouts Visits Issuance of Emergency Passports
Additional Assistance Deaths & Estates Crime/terrorism victim assistance Kidnappings Financial assistance, repatriations
Consular Information Program: Know Before You Go Country Specific Information Travel Warnings: Long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable Travel Alerts: Short-term conditions, generally within a particular country, that pose imminent risks to the security of U.S. citizens. Messages for U.S. citizens Enroll! step.state.gov
Our Goal for Voting Assistance Our objective is to help as many U.S. citizens as possible, to vote successfully as quickly and easily as possible
The Department of State s Voting Responsibilities Provide non-partisan Information/Guidance to Overseas U.S. citizens Communicate important dates and policy changes to voters Provide access to forms and emergency ballots Transmit voting forms and ballots to local election officials for private U.S. citizens
U.S. Citizens Abroad U.S. citizens make more than 70 million trips abroad every year 7.9 million U.S. citizens reside overseas Approx. 283,000 U.S. citizen students study abroad
Whom We Help We are required to offer voting assistance to any private U.S. citizen or U.S. citizen under Chief of Mission authority May be long term residents overseas or overseas temporarily First time voters and regular voters U.S. citizens who have never resided in the United States
Who We Are We have voting assistance officers at 238 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. Each U.S. embassy or consulate with a consular section has at least two employees who provide voting assistance. Currently we have 983 employees who provide at least occasional voting assistance.
Challenges to Providing Voting Assistance Identifying and communicating with private U.S. citizens Increasing Voter Interest/Awareness in advance of elections Diversity of State voting rules and requirements Assisting U.S. citizens of limited language ability
U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services Senior Voting Action Officer Mark Raugust Email VotingInfo@State.gov www.travel.state.gov US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs