KADENA AIR BASE, Japan - The voting assistance officers on Kadena Air Base promoted voting awareness recently to encourage service members to register to vote and request absentee ballots.
The military offers voting assistance officers to service members in an attempt to help their voices be heard.
“Voting is one of the rights we defend as members of the military,” said Navy Lt. Michael J. Buyske, the voting assistance officer for the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. “It gives us the opportunity to determine the future leaders of our state and country, many of whom make decisions which directly impact our pay, deployment schedules and quality of life.”
While it is important service members vote, some feel they cannot while stationed overseas, according to Buyske.
“There is the the misconception that absentee ballots don’t count, people saying they don’t have the time to register for an absentee ballot, or simply being unaware of how to register and receive a ballot.”
Absentee ballots take about five minutes and count just as much as ballots at direct polling sites, according to Buyske.
“If we fail to vote, we actively erode our hard-earned freedoms,” said Capt. Brad L. Hull, the battalion adjutant, legal officer, and voting assistance officer for Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. “As former President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, ‘Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.’”
Online resources and voting assistance officers make it easy for service members to register and vote.
“Service members may register and request an absentee ballot with the federal postcard application,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Travis Smalls, the alternate voting assistance officer for 18th Civil Engineer Group, Expeditionary Engineering. “This application form can be picked up from any unit’s voting assistance officer. It is accepted by all states and territories and is free of charge from any post office on base.”
If service members do not have a federal postcard application, they can register from their computer.
“An online version of the voter registration or absentee ballot request form is also available at www.fvap.gov,” said Buyske. “A voter registration or absentee ballot request form must be completed, printed, signed, dated and mailed directly to your local election official.”
Voting assistance officers strive to show service members the ease of registering and voting.
“June 28 through July 7 was voting awareness week,” said Smalls. “In order to increase voting exposure we stood outside the Base Exchange and the post office. We spoke on American Forces Network radio, and we posted statuses on social media sites, encouraging members to register. We got numerous people to register; it was a huge success.”
Voting may seem like a small issue for many, especially those stationed far from home, but it is a quick process that can have a major influence on everyone’s future.
“Voting shapes the control of the U.S,” said Smalls. “As service members, it is vital to vote because the leadership of our country directly affects our future.”