Testimony of Ms. Pat Hollarn
Retired Elections Director
Okaloosa County
Hearing: Problems for Military and Overseas Voters: Why Many Soldiers and Their Families Can't Vote
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY ON UOCAVA PROBLEMS
Patricia M. (Pat) Hollarn
May 13, 2009
My experience includes serving a large military and overseas civilian voter population in 20 years as an election official in Okaloosa County, Florida, home of several large military installations. I also was an absentee military dependent overseas voter during my husband’s Air Force career.
Problems actually begin with the registration process for many UOCAVA voters, caused by voters having little knowledge of the system and some election officials not fully understanding the proper implementation of UOCAVA itself. Questions on legal voting residency are often not adequately resolved.
Once a UOCAVA voter loses eligible voter status in a jurisdiction, for whatever reason, the registration problems start all over again. This either delays or denies a prospective voter his ballot.
Receiving and casting a ballot with the assurance of it being counted is the ultimate problem, to which the following are contributing factors:
- Election schedules that do not allow sufficient time for voter to receive and return a ballot in time to be counted.
- Forms and procedures that create obstacles to timely issuance, delivery, receipt, and counting of overseas ballot.
- Activated National Guard and Reserve military members who mistakenly do not get included as UOCAVA voters.
- Mailing of ballots to and from voters located in remote areas, combat zone, countries with known mail difficulties, have increased, not decreased over the years.
There are solutions to these problems that Congress can provide.