By Captain Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.).
In a speech to the House of Commons in 1940, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill said:
"The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in the constant challenge of mortal danger, are turning the tide of world war by their prowess and their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Although he was referring to the Royal Air Force, those eloquent words could apply equally to the men and women of the United States armed forces today. The entire U.S. military establishment, including the National Guard and Reserve, amounts to less than three-fourths of one percent of the U.S. population. It is these few who, by their prowess and their devotion over the last quarter century, have worked to prevent all Americans from a repeat of the horrors of September 11, 2001.
What do these few ask of our country, in exchange for their valiant service? Per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986, these individuals have every right to ask, and indeed to demand, that they be given the opportunity to cast ballots in federal, state, and local elections and that those ballots should be counted, no matter where the service of our country has taken them.
In a 1952 letter to Congress, during the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman wrote:
"About 2,500,000 men and women in the armed forces are of voting age at the present time. Many of those in uniform are serving overseas, or in parts of the country distant from their homes. They are unable to return to their States either to register or to vote. Yet these men and women, who are serving their country and in many cases risking their lives, deserve above all others to exercise the right to vote in this election year. At a time when these young people are defending our country and its free institutions, the least we at home can do is to make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to fight to preserve."
President Truman’s letter is included in a 1952 report from Congress. The report also includes the testimony of the former Arkansas Secretary of State, Mr. Hall. He was the current Secretary of State of Arkansas at the time, as well as the President of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Mr. Hall reported that because of late primaries, ballot access lawsuits, and other problems, it was “impossible” for many local election officials to print and mail absentee ballots until a few days before Election Day. Thus, it was impossible for military personnel serving in Korea or elsewhere to receive, mark, and return their ballots by Election Day, and these voters were disenfranchised through no fault of their own.
Truman Implores the States to Act
President Truman called upon the States to fix this problem by rearranging the election calendar to make it possible for local election officials (LEOs) to transmit absentee ballots early and thus to enable service members to cast ballots that really do get counted, no matter where the service of our country has taken them. In his letter, he wrote:
“Any such legislation by Congress should be temporary, since it should be possible to make all the necessary changes in State laws before the congressional elections of 1954.”
Unfortunately for the military community, it did not work out that way. The Korean War ended in 1953, and the issue of military voting rights dropped off the national radar screen until November 2000, when a handful of late-arriving military and overseas ballots and a court order that required that they be counted played a significant role in determining the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.
The MOVE Act of 2009
Fast forward to 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act). This new Act amended UOCAVA by extending voting rights to eligible voters. Current law now requires every state to be ready to transmit absentee ballots to eligible overseas voters (military or civilian) and to military personnel and their voting-aged dependents at least 45 days before any primary, general, runoff, or special election for federal office. If the voter has submitted their ballot request prior to that date, and requested to receive their blank ballot online, they can expect it as of the full 45-days prior to the election. If they send their ballot request later, the ballot will be ready to deliver, but they will logically have less time to vote and return it.
As of 2025, there are about 7,600 local officials who conduct absentee voting. Absentee voting is conducted on a statewide basis only in Alaska, Maine, and the District of Columbia. It has been a responsibility of the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section to monitor the timely sending of overseas and military ballots and to take action if the 45-day rule is not properly followed.
If a voter’s ballot is late, overseas and military voters do have the option to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to send in their vote. For returned ballots postmarked on time according to state ballot postmarking deadlines, extended ballot receipt deadlines, also allows for more overseas and military ballots to be included in the final election count.
Among the states that have held their primaries in September, all except New Hampshire have moved the primary date back to earlier in the year. But with recent changes in law in Texas and California, other state legislatures are considering redrawing the electoral boundaries in their respective states and some are still being challenged in court. Until the congressional district lines have been finalized, candidates for the major party primaries cannot file their nomination papers, and until the nomination papers have been finalized, the LEO cannot print absentee ballots.
In Texas, the 2026 election will be conducted with updated gerrymandered districts, and after November 2026 the Supreme Court will determine whether the new lines are lawful and constitutional. California’s action to counterbalance Texas’ five congressional seats was upheld by a federal court. Other states may face redistricting challenges in the short time frame before the General Election, leading to confusion among military and overseas voters.
Timely Ballot Request and Delivery Go Hand-in-Hand
Timely ballot request by overseas and military voters, coupled with timely ballot delivery on the part of the local election officials, and extended ballot receipt deadline for ballots postmarked by the deadline is the formula that will assure that voters have time to vote, return their ballots and have them counted.