Republican lawmakers demand answers from the Pentagon after military service members complained that they have not received enough absentee ballots to vote before Election Day.
GOP Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), and Mike Waltz (R-FL) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin citing their “grave concern over deficiencies in the Defense Department’s protocols” for the U.S. military because they said the absentee ballot stockpile has been “depleted and had not been replenished.”
“Our nation’s brave men and women in uniform brought to our attention that there has been inadequate education at the administrative level on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and fill in a federal write-in absentee ballot if their state-issued ballot does not arrive in time,” the letter reads. “Other service members also stated that when a request for a federal write-in absentee ballot was made, they were told the base’s stockpile of such ballots was depleted and had not been replenished.”
The lawmakers also wrote that the Pentagon offered “inadequate education” on how service members can vote while deployed.
The Republicans demanded that the Pentagon take extraordinary measures to ensure that the nation’s “elite warriors” have an opportunity to cast their vote in the upcoming election.
However, with only three days until Election Day, lawmakers fear the government has not yet taken action.