Pentagon is Failing to Provide Resources for Active Duty Service Members to Vote: Report

Three congressmen accused U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday of failing to provide active-duty service members with the resources they need to vote, after service members spoke about their struggles with absentee ballots.

“They’ve failed to plan accordingly to facilitate the right to vote for every single one of our nation’s brave men and women in uniform. This is absolutely unacceptable. Our nation’s elite warriors deserve to have every opportunity to vote for the next commander-in-chief,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.)

Service members spoke to Rep. Mast, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), a retired Colonel is the National Guard and a former Green Beret. The active duty personnel reported that they are not receiving proper instructions on how to register and vote from abroad.

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Some military bases reportedly denied ballot requests, claiming that they had run out of their supply of federal absentee ballots and that their supply had not been replenished despite the looming election.

“We need assurances these service members who are putting their lives on the line for our country have the information and tools they need to cast their ballot to vote,” said Rep. Waltz.

The representatives penned a letter demanding that the Pentagon work to ensure that all service members are able to vote.

They also asked for details on the Pentagon’s procedures regarding voting for active-duty troops.

With the election rapidly approaching, Austin has not publicly responded to the letter, and it is unclear whether any of the reported issues have been remedied in time to allow every deployed service member the opportunity to vote.

The Pentagon’s reported failure to give military personnel the opportunity to vote is likely to hurt former President Donald Trump far more than Vice President Kamala Harris.

GovX polled military service members, veterans, and first responders in June, finding that 66 percent of current service members planned to vote for President Trump, and 68 percent of veterans supported him.

That poll was conducted before Vice President Harris took over as the Democratic nominee, so the current numbers are likely different.

A more recent poll from Pew Research found that 61 percent of military veterans support Trump over Harris, although that poll did not include active-duty service members.