GOP lawmakers sound alarm over 'gaps' in Pentagon protocols for military voting

FIRST ON FOX: With just four days until Election Day, Republican lawmakers are demanding answers from the Pentagon after receiving complaints about insufficient resources to help military members vote.

Active-duty military personnel say the Pentagon did not allocate enough resources to allow them to vote on time and that the stock of mail-in ballots on at least one military base is exhausted and has not been replenished, according to three Republican congressmen.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Mich., Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich. and Mike Walz, R-Fla., wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, writing “with grave concern” about “deficiencies in Department of Defense protocols,” which also include failure to inform military members of their options on how to vote.

“Our country's brave men and women in uniform brought to our attention that there was inadequate education at the administrative level on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot and to complete a federal mail-in ballot if their state issued a mail-in ballot does not arrive on time,” the lawmakers write.

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A member of the US military votes in Georgia's midterm election runoff. Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that the Pentagon has not allocated enough resources for active-duty military members to vote on time. (Reuters/Cheney Orr)

“Other service members also said that when a request for federal absentee ballots was made, they were told that the base's supply of these ballots was exhausted and had not been replenished.”

Lawmakers say it is imperative that the Pentagon do everything in its power to ensure the nation's “elite warriors” have every opportunity to vote and that the Department of Defense (DOD) “mobilizes all the necessary resources over the next seven days” so that the military can vote. the staff has this opportunity.

They also asked Austin to clarify what training or guidance is given to service members so they can vote and what training is given to each unit's Voting Assistance Office (VAO).

Republicans also questioned whether there is a sufficient supply of federal mail-in ballots to allow servicemembers across the country to vote if their state-issued mail-in ballot does not arrive on time. Additionally, lawmakers want to know whether military personnel had enough time to review a sample ballot electronically to learn their voting options before the election or whether they should fill out a ballot by mail. federal correspondence.

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Three Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to Austin on Wednesday, writing “with grave concern” that the Pentagon has not allocated enough resources for active-duty military members to vote on time. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital requested comment from DOD regarding the letter but did not receive a response prior to publication.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have mobilized federal manpower, resources and taxpayer dollars to block state-level election integrity measures, including in Georgia and Virginia, through lawsuits and defamation,” said Mast, a military veteran who lost both legs while serving in the state. Afghanistan in 2010, says Fox News Digital.

“They claim to care about democracy and the right to vote, but they have failed to plan accordingly to make it easier for every one of our country's brave men and women in uniform to vote. This is absolutely unacceptable. Our nation's elite warriors deserve every opportunity to vote for the next commander in chief, especially since that person will make life and death decisions for our troops.

Waltz, who served 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard, echoed those sentiments.

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The Florida flagpole salutes during a campaign rally in which former U.S. President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate JD Vance appeared at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 20, 2024. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have fired our warfighters serving in combat zones, either by falsely claiming that the United States has suffered no losses under this administration or by claiming that thousands of these service members are not not in active combat zones,” Walz told Fox News Digital. . “We need assurance that these service members who are risking their lives for our country have the information and tools they need to vote.”

Huizenga also said the situation “is totally unacceptable.”

“Unfortunately, this is the latest example of the Biden-Harris administration's failure to defend our military,” Huizenga told Fox News Digital.