Election season is underway! We want to make sure all military families (nearly 50% of whom are families of color) have equitable access and support to vote this year.
If you are a military voter (service member or military spouse), we want to hear about your experience with Voting Assistance Officers (VAO). VAOs are the people who are legally tasked with closing this voting gap.
By federal policy, VAOs are required to be at every military base to provide information on voter registration procedures, absentee ballot procedures, and to help connect you to the ballot box.
Why It Matters
We know the current system of voting remains inaccessible for many in our military community. Frequent moves, overseas assignments, and lack of information on where and how to register are all challenges. This is compounded by voter suppression and institutionalized racism that disproportionately impacts military voters of color.
Despite record-high voter turnout in the 2020 election, only 47% of our military community voted (that’s 27% lower than our civilian counterparts!). This results in decreased political power of our community when policymakers make decisions that impact us.
That’s why we want to know how the VAO program is working. Your experiences with VAOs provide critical information to policymakers to create stronger program regulations. Requirements that our community needs in order to participate at the polls.
Secure Families Initiative is working on policy advocacy to increase resources and improve access for every military family to access the ballot box. We want to hear from you to advise and shape our policy recommendations.
If you have less than 5 minutes: tell us if you have met your Voting Assistance Officer!
It takes 5 minutes to give us some quick feedback on your experience.
And if you have never talked to a VAO – or don’t know what they do – that’s okay! We want to hear from you, too!
If you have 10 minutes: have a conversation with your VAO and complete a survey on that experience!
If you are a military voter (service member or military spouse), care about voting accessibility, and have about 10 minutes to make a phone call and record your experience, you can provide vital information for our federal advocacy to increase access for all military voters! Please use this questionnaire to record your experience reaching out to your local VAO. The questionnaire walks you through step-by-step what to do, and even provides sample scripts at each step.
If you’d like to participate, but feel nervous, let us know, and we can answer any questions – info@securefamiliesinitiative.org.