Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, expressed disappointment today in Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake's continued refusal to allow third-party organizations to conduct voter registration drives at VA facilities. 

Peake stated that the outright ban would continue in a new letter responding to a request from Senators Akaka, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and John Kerry (D-MA) to end the current prohibition. 

Senator Akaka said: "I appreciate Secretary Peake's fast response as time is critical here, and I am glad to hear VA will reach out to state officials to help with ongoing voter assistance programs.  However, I am still amazed that VA insists on banning all voter registration drives by outside groups. 

"Secretary Peake's contention - that determining whether a group is non-partisan is itself a partisan political activity banned by the Hatch Act - is off base.  If his contention were true, any federal employee stopping to consider whether a comment or email might be inappropriately partisan could violate the Hatch Act with that decision-making process itself.  That interpretation makes no sense.  If VA really cannot distinguish between non-partisan and partisan voter registration drives, it should just allow both and advise VA employees not to participate if they are uncertain, since the Hatch Act is implicated only if VA employees participate.  The Hatch Act exists for good reasons, but it clearly allows outside groups to come to VA facilities to help our veterans exercise their right to vote. 

"VA employees, like all federal employees, have been required to follow the Hatch Act for decades, and I see no basis for deciding now that VA employees cannot be trusted to do so.  I will continue to work with my colleagues and VA to find a reasonable solution that honors our veterans."

Under the current policy, which Secretary Peake has the authority to revise, Veterans Affairs broadly prohibits third-party organizations from conducting voter registration drives at VA facilities.  Recently, VA has received criticism for this prohibition, and been urged to allow non-partisan voter registration activities. 

Secretary Peake's letter in response to Senators Akaka, Feinstein and Kerry: http://akaka.senate.gov/public/Peake-to-Akaka.pdf

The Senators' original letter to Peake: http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Home&month=7&year=2008&release_id=2284

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