Register now to ensure vote gets counted

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Schloeffel
  • 347th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  With election season just around the corner, potential voters who have not registered to receive absentee ballots must act now to ensure their vote is counted. 

"Your ballot must get to your state in time to ensure it's counted for the upcoming elections," said Lynn Emond, Moody voting assistance officer. "If you haven't already started the process, you need to act immediately." 

There are several different ways to start the process of receiving an absentee ballot. Airmen can contact their orderly room or squadron's voting assistance officer to request a federal postcard. The postcard requires the applicant to fill out some personal information, which includes the city and state they wish to register. 

Once sent off, an election official decides the applicant's eligibility to vote in that particular state. 

"To vote in a particular state, you must have some ties to it or established legal residence there at some point," said Ms. Emond. "Most often, you can vote in the state where you last voted, resided or paid income tax." 

The state then sends an absentee ballot a few weeks later with a return address. After filling out and sending the ballot, the vote is then counted when it's received. In many cases, an absentee ballot will be sent to the same address at the time of the next election without further registration. 

There is often a misconception that the absentee ballot process is more complicated and time-consuming than it actually is, said Ms. Emond. 

"Many people think it is a difficult task and don't want to take the time to deal with absentee voting," she said. "In reality, it is very easy to get your vote counted even though you live in a different state. All you need to do is fill out a postcard, and they send the ballot." 

The elections in November will decide 435 House of Representatives, 33 Senate seats and 36 state governors, in addition to many state and local elections. 

The Air Force created the federal voting assistance program to ensure Airmen have the ability to vote and express their political opinions on election day, said Capt. William Johnson, Moody's assistant voting representative. 

"As military members, political elections directly affect our future," he said. "That's why we have voting information booths at the base exchange and point-of-contacts at the squadron and group levels. The Air Force is definitely proactive and is concerned that their people have the opportunity and information to vote." 

For questions on current state residency, contact the legal office or access the federal voting Web site at http://www.FVAP.gov. 

For more information on absentee ballots, call Moody's voting action line at 257-4468, access the federal voting Web site or contact a squadron federal voting assistance officer.