October 5 Deadlines For Military Voting

October 5 Deadlines For Military Voting In Virginia & New Jersey

ARLINGTON, Va. – Monday, September 28, 2009.  The recommended mailing date for absentee ballots for this November’s elections in NJ and VA from deployed military personnel is October 5 – less than 1 week away. The Federal Voting Assistance Project recommends that service men and women on deployed Naval vessels or in Afghanistan or Iraq locations have their absentee ballots in the mail by October 5 in order to be received by the appropriate voting officials by Election day.   ProjectVirginia has created a step-by-step guide with specific instructions on how military personnel who are residents of Virginia or New Jersey can obtain a ballot for the elections this November in these two states.

FACTS: 

• The absentee voting system has failed our men and women in the Armed Forces.  According to The Heritage Foundation, fewer than 20 percent of military personnel were able to cast a ballot that counted in the 2008 general election.  

• The official deadline to request absentee ballots is late October. However, this deadline does not take into account the time needed to process mail from overseas military locations to be received by the November 3rd election date.

• The procedures for military personnel voting by absentee ballot in state elections are slightly different than the procedures for Federal elections. 

HOW TO HELP:

• Write about the deadline for military absentee balloting in your blog and ask readers to direct anyone they know in the Armed forces.
• Ask readers to email and post these links on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.
• Ask readers to join the Project Military Voting cause on Facebook:

            
References:
FVAP: Federal Voting Assistance Project (federal elections)
New Jersey Division of Elections (military voting)
Virginia State Board of Elections (military voting) 
Heritage Foundation (report on military voting)