MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – Nov. 6 is a day most people have marked on their calendar; Election Day is approaching and many Marines may not be aware on how to cast their vote.
The first step Marines could take is to check-in with their voting assistance officer. There is a voting assistance officer assigned to each unit that will provide service members with a federal postcard application to register to vote.
If a Marine is already registered to vote, they will receive their write-in ballot, an absentee ballot, in the mail to cast their vote. However, if the absentee ballot has not arrived within 30 days of the election, the voting assistance officers can provide them.
“You can also go online and can pull up the forms,” said John Cousins, the deputy manpower officer for MCAS Miramar, Calif. “Go online to fvap.gov and it tells you everything. It’s so user friendly. It’s unbelievable. It’s not like the days before when you had to go see a voting officer, so they could explain it to you. Now you go online and bang, it’s there.”
Voting is important, because it could directly affect service members, explained Cousins.
“We fight for the right to be able to have the democracy,” said Cousins. “We should exercise that right. If your congressman is not pro-military, and they’re attacking your pay and benefits, you want to have a say in that. That’s why it’s important to vote, that way your voice can be heard.”