Commenter:
Edgardo Cortes - General Registrar, Fairfax County
Adoption of the proposed regulations will greatly benefit military and overseas voters
I fully support the Virginia State Board of Elections’ (SBE) efforts to improve the voting process for military and overseas voters. I urge adoption of the proposed regulations based on their benefits to military and overseas voters and to election administrators around the Commonwealth.
Lack of access to regular mail service serves as a major impediment to voting for military and overseas voters. In addition to the many military voters and their dependents living in Fairfax County, our overseas voter population includes thousands of federal employees that work for the U.S. Department of State and other agencies that serve our country abroad. We frequently hear from these military and overseas voters about their frustrations in getting documents mailed to us because they are stationed in remote or dangerous regions across the globe where mail service is infrequent and unreliable.
This issue was one of the driving forces behind the passage of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act passed by Congress in 2009, which amended the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Extensive testimony was provided to Congress regarding problems with mail delivery and transit times during Senate hearings held on May 13 and July 15, 2009 and published in the Congressional Record in May 27, 2010 (p. S4513-S4521). Virginia’s General Assembly moved quickly to amend the Virginia State Code to ensure that it not only met, but exceeded, the minimum requirements established by the MOVE Act. The proposed regulations reinforce the spirit of the MOVE Act and are a critical step in ensuring that the Commonwealth continues to serve military and overseas voters and provides them the means to exercise their voting rights.
The regulations proposed by the SBE will allow local voter registration offices to process Federal Post Card Applications (FPCAs) for registration without having to wait for a document that has already been received electronically to be received in the mail. This will not only make it easier for Fairfax County voters serving in the military or living and working overseas to be properly registered and have their ballots counted, but it will also reduce the administrative burden on the Fairfax County Office of Elections. Currently, FPCAs submitted electronically for use in registration must be processed, filed, and tracked separately to ensure the same FPCA is received as a hard copy in the mail before the close of polls on Election Day. Without receipt of the hard copy, the ballot cannot be counted. This separate tracking system requires additional staff time and resources to implement. In these tough budgetary times, these resources could be better utilized on other activities that will provide concrete benefits to Fairfax County voters.
Adoption of the proposed regulations will greatly benefit military and overseas voters and election administrators around the Commonwealth by removing the redundant, bureaucratic obstacle currently in place for registrants using an FPCA. I appreciate the opportunity to provide input into this matter of critical importance to Virginia’s military and overseas voters.
These comments are provided in my capacity as General Registrar of Fairfax County and do not necessarily represent the views of the Fairfax County Electoral Board or the Fairfax County Government.
