U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON- A survey commissioned by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission reveals that military and overseas citizen voters continue to face logistical challenges registering to vote and receiving and transmitting ballots. The EAC also released the results of case studies from four states on how they serve these voters, and the innovative practices officials are implementing. The research, available at www.eac.gov, was mandated under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

“This research on military and overseas voters has yielded information on best practices, challenges and opportunities that states can benefit from as they advance their individual efforts to serve this important constituency,” said EAC Chair Rosemary Rodriguez.

Survey Results of Military and Overseas Voters
The survey focused on the voting experiences of 5,769 military and overseas voters during the 2006 federal election. Generally, the combined 5,769 responses that were analyzed for this report (4,166 for the Supplemental Sample, 1,603 for the Four States Sample) represent a diverse population by state, country, age and military/nonmilitary status, but there is no way of knowing whether it is representative of the entire UOCAVA population. Following are some of the findings: 

• Overseas civilians voted at much lower rates than military voters and their families – 82.6 percent of uniformed service members said they voted while 49.5 percent of civilian voters who reside overseas permanently or indefinitely reported voting. Spouses of military members reported the highest rate of voting at 92 percent. 
• Civilian citizens who were living outside the U.S. temporarily reported the highest rates of attempting to vote without success at 24 percent. 
• Of those who did not vote, half reported problems with requesting registration and ballot materials; a quarter had difficulty returning ballots; and one-quarter cited lack of political motivation as their reason for not voting. 

Moreover, the study revealed that improving the transmission of voting and registration materials would help increase voting rates among all overseas voters. Few overseas military voters reported using electronic technology to vote, but those who did overwhelmingly recalled positive experiences with it.

Results of State Case Studies
A study of 42 officials representing four states (Florida, Illinois, Montana and South Carolina) examined the administration of electronic (fax and e-mail) ballots. It found that election officials are deeply committed to serving overseas voters and protecting their privacy. The study also identified several challenges in serving overseas voters, including verifying their identity and ensuring military voters, whose addresses change often, receive their ballots. It also found that the greatest barriers to electronic voting include security and limited resources and technical capacity at the local level.

The EAC also convened a conference where election officials, experts and voter advocates shared information on how to overcome challenges to serving overseas voters, including registering them and transmitting their ballots electronically, and the types of state laws needed to serve them better.

In the coming weeks, the EAC will issue another brochure in its Quick Start Management Guide series on election administration and management to assist election officials in serving military and overseas voters.

The voting rights of military and overseas citizens are protected by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Section 245 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires the EAC to study electronic voting and the electoral process.

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act. The EAC serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form. The four EAC commissioners are Rosemary Rodriguez, chair; Caroline Hunter, vice chair; Donetta Davidson; and Gracia Hillman.