NATIONAL MILITARY VOTER READINESS

NATIONAL MILITARY VOTER READINESS DAY SET FOR SEPTEMBER 15 

For Immediate Release:  September 4, 2012

Contact: Liz Snyder Bowman, 202-789-4365

The Heroes Vote Initiative & Nonprofit VOTE create military voter readiness day for military voters to register and request an absentee ballot

WASHINGTON – With state deadlines for registering and requesting an absentee ballot fast approaching, the Heroes Vote Initiative, in collaboration with Nonprofit VOTE, announce the creation of a National Military Voter Readiness Day for September 15, 2012.  The day is intended to raise awareness among military members and their spouses about the importance of voting and help make sure military voters are election ready.

“We are just a few short weeks away from the deadlines for registering and requesting an absentee ballot and we want to make sure that every military voter has a chance to participate in the election,” said Eric Eversole, founder and executive director of the Military Voter Protection Project’s Heroes Vote Initiative. “For too many years, our military members and their spouses have been silenced on Election Day.  We want to give them every chance to have their voices heard.”

“In 2008, 6 million Americans didn't vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register,” said George Pillsbury, founder and executive director of Nonprofit VOTE.  “We are proud to join with the Heroes Vote Initiative to ensure that military voters, regardless of their location in the world, have an opportunity to register, request an absentee ballot and cast a vote.”

The Heroes Vote Initiative is the first and only nationwide campaign to encourage military voter participation and provide those voters with the tools to register and request an absentee ballot. As part of the initiative, the Military Voter Protection Project is creating strategic partnerships with local military and veterans groups, as well as state and local election officials and nonprofit organizations, to make military voters a priority in this year’s election.

The chief objectives of Military Voter Readiness Day are to: raise awareness of looming state deadlines for military members to register to vote and request an absentee ballot; and to encourage active duty military voters and their spouses to complete a Federal Post Card Application, which allows them to register and request an absentee ballot in one easy step.  That application can be completed online in a few short minutes at www.HeroesVote.org.

For more information about National Military Voter Registration Day, please visit http://www.heroesvote.org/the-time-is-now/.