Measure Would Make Voting
Easier for Returning Soldiers
Military personnel returning from
overseas service would have an easier time voting
under legislation approved unanimously Monday
by the Senate Rules Committee. SB 718, authored
by Sen. Don
Barrington, would allow those who return up
to three months before an election to still be
able to vote even without being registered.
“We should do all we can to make it easier
for our military men and women to be able to vote
when they return home,” said Barrington,
R-Lawton. “Voting is our greatest freedom;
and they above all should have the right to participate
in the process given it’s what many of them
are fighting to give people in Iraq and other
countries.”
Barrington said the legislation stemmed from a
recent report by the Pew Center on the States
that criticized Oklahoma for not providing enough
time to vote for our military personnel serving
overseas.
Barrington explained that currently, military
personnel who are not registered to vote and return
home after the voter registration deadline, which
is 25 days before an election, are allowed to
cast a provisional ballot. His bill extends the
grace period for returning military personnel
to ninety days. Therefore, any military personnel
who return home within ninety days of an election
will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot,
without being registered to vote prior to the
deadline.
“When our soldiers return from overseas,
the last thing on their mind is registering to
vote. Many of them haven’t seen their families
and friends anywhere from six months to a year,
and maybe more,” said Barrington. “They
have so many things to get in order when they
return and we don’t want to punish them
because they happen to forget to register to vote
in time. This will give them a little leeway,
and let them still participate in one of their
greatest freedoms as an American.”
The bill would apply to any service member and
their spouse who has been honorably discharged,
is on officially authorized leave, or whose service
or overseas employment has been terminated.
SB 718 will next be heard by the full Senate.
For more information contact:
Sen. Barrington's Office: 405-521-5563