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Senate Passes Cornyn Legislation To Protect Military Voters

Effort to Ensure Every Military Vote Counts Wins Unanimous Bipartisan Approval

WASHINGTON—In an important victory for service members serving abroad, the Senate late last night unanimously passed a critical military voting measure authored by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, that would make needed, common-sense improvements to our outdated military voting system. Two weeks ago, it was thought that this legislation would not move forward after it was not adopted during consideration of the annual Defense Authorization bill, but Senator Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, succeeded in pushing it through as a stand-alone measure last night after securing strong bipartisan approval.

“America was built on the values of democracy, fairness and freedom. It is unacceptable that many of the men and women serving to defend those values on the front lines of the war on terror are being denied one of our nation’s most basic and cherished rights,” Sen. Cornyn said. “The Military Voting Protection Act (MVP) would take several steps to significantly improve the process of delivering military absentee ballots from overseas to ensure every vote matters. Our servicemen and women deserve nothing less as they sacrifice daily to protect our safety, security and freedoms. The Senate’s unanimous approval of this legislation represents a very important step forward in our fight to strengthen voting rights for our military. I hope the House will follow the Senate’s lead and approve this bill before Congress adjourns.”

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-22), who has introduced a companion measure in the House, said, “On the eve of this historic presidential election, I commend Senator Cornyn’s leadership in carrying the MVP Act through the Senate, fighting for those brave military men and women who are fighting for us and our freedoms. I will continue to work hard to convince House leaders to follow the Senate’s lead to fight for our brave men and women, and pass the MVP Act.”

“Our men and women deserve the government's very best efforts to give them the opportunity to participate in our democratic process, and I will not be satisfied until I see a process in place that gives all eligible uniformed voters a reasonable opportunity to vote,” Sen. Cornyn concluded.

Background
Originally introduced in May, the Military Voting Protection Act (MVP Act), S.3073, would take several steps to significantly improve the process of delivering overseas military absentee ballots to ensure every vote counts.

When Sen. Cornyn introduced it in May, it received the strong support of leaders in Texas who said the following:

• Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a retired U.S. Marine Lt. Colonel, said: "I commend Senator Cornyn for making sure our fighting men and women overseas - such as my own son - are entitled to enjoy the very same rights they serve to protect. Our soldiers deserve no less."
• Then-Sec. of State Phil Wilson said: “As the chief elections officer for the state of Texas, it is important to me that we make every effort to protect the voting rights of the men and women who are risking their lives on foreign soil to preserve the liberties and freedoms we enjoy in the United States. I look forward to working with Sen. Cornyn in his efforts to ensure the secure transmission of ballots to and from our troops overseas.” 
• Texas Adjutant General Charles Rodriguez said: "The proposed legislation is very welcome. More soldier cast-ballots will count. Our military servicemembers deserve every assistance in helping them to exercise their right to vote, a right they sacrifice for every day in service to our country. Sen. Cornyn’s legislative initiative will help reduce the time mail-in ballots from our soldiers take to transit back stateside to local election authorities."

In August, Sen. Cornyn sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, signed by more than two dozen colleagues in the Senate and House, pointing out disturbing statistics released by the Election Assistance Commission and the DoD Inspector General regarding military voting in recent elections, including: 

• Only 59 percent of surveyed military service members knew where to obtain voting information on base – and only 40 percent had received voting information or assistance from a Voting Assistance Officer; 
• Only 16.5 percent of the six million eligible military and overseas voters were able to request an absentee ballot for the November 2006 election; 
• Only one-third of the ballots that had been requested by military and overseas voters actually reached local election offices after being marked by voters. In other words, only 5.5 percent of the total eligible military and overseas citizen voters were able to cast an absentee ballot in the November 2006 election.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

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