As 2015 winds down, Fort Campbell Voting Assistance Officer Krista Hammond is expanding her efforts. The new year brings closer the presidential and other national elections that undoubtedly will impact the lives of service members and their Families.
Hammond’s mission is to make voting accessible to everyone on the installation as they work to defend the nation. With this in mind, she is encouraging everyone to request their absentee ballots well in advance of the general election in November. By requesting an absentee ballot in January, the request will be valid for the entire calendar year. Typically, absentee ballots are mailed 45 days prior to the election.
Soldiers and Family members who need help requesting an absentee ballot or registering to vote can visit Hammond’s Office at the Soldier Support Center or speak to their unit’s voting assistance officer. Also, many questions can be answered by visiting the Federal Voting Assistance Program website at FVAP.gov. The Federal Post Card Application can be accessed via this site. This application form allows U.S. citizens to register and/or request an absentee ballot from local election officials. Hammond encourages service members to submit a new Federal Post Card Application at the beginning of each calendar year, as well as anytime they move.
“They can go online and do it themselves,” Hammond said. “They have to print the form out and manually sign it and mail it in. If they come to me, I’ll help them through the whole process. I’ll have them fill out the form here and I’ll mail it for them.”
The Federal Post Card Application is designed for use by active-duty service members and their eligible Family members, as well as U.S. citizens residing outside of the U.S. and some members of the National Guard. This application is valid for service members hailing from all 50 states, and FVAP.gov also contains state-specific information, including primary dates, deadlines to receive absentee ballot requests and more.
“The Soldiers now can also receive their ballot on email and print it out. That’s also a good tool,” Hammond said. “They don’t have to receive it in the mail. They can get in electronically and print it out and mail it back in. It varies by state, so they have to check out that state’s guidelines.”
Hammond said a Soldier’s voting residence need not be at his or her current duty station, and it is determined by the legal state of residence listed on his or her Leave and Earnings Statement. This is one of the most common questions Soldiers have during election season, Hammond said.
“They can base that off their LES to determine what their residency is,” Hammond said. “Then you’ll have a lot of Soldiers who may want to change their residency as they move … we’ll have Soldiers that come to Fort Campbell and get registered locally here, which means they don’t have to vote absentee. They can go to the polls and vote, as long as they’re not deployed.”
Unit voting assistance officers can attend training, from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m., Jan. 6, Jan. 20 and Feb. 16 at the Soldier Support Center (2702 Michigan Ave.). For local voting assistance, Soldiers, Family members and civilians can call 270-956-1005 or email [email protected].
“I’m going to provide training to [the unit voting assistance officers] so they can further assist the Soldiers in their unit,” Hammond said. “They are supposed to push the same information down to their units and their Family members.”
With the presidential election ramping up, Hammond encouraged Fort Campbell Soldiers, Families and civilians to make sure they can cast their ballot when the time comes.
“It’s a right that they fight for, so they have a vested interest in it,” she said of voting. “They’re serving their country. One of their rights is the right to vote, which a lot of countries don’t have that right. It’s very important for them to understand their rights and how to register and request their ballot.”
Permissible Political Activity
Soldiers and other federal employees, including Department of Defense civilians, also should note how their government service affects permitted political activities. DOD civilians can reference the Hatch Act as a guide. Most Fort Campbell civilian employees are less restricted by Hatch Act guidelines and can volunteer with campaigns and political organizations off the clock. However, this means that no political activity is allowed while on duty. These restrictions apply to email and social media postings, even on personally-owned devices. Federal employees cannot solicit or receive political contributions as well.
Active-duty Soldiers can reference DOD Directive 1344.10 for political activity guidance. Soldiers should not engage in partisan political activities, including campaigning for candidates, fundraising and speaking at partisan political gatherings. Soldiers are allowed to express personal political opinions about candidates and issues, make contributions or attend political events as a spectator while not in uniform. However, sharing links from Facebook or re-tweeting comments from Twitter from a political party or candidate can be deemed as unacceptable activity.
More about the Hatch Act and DOD Directive 1344.10 can be found online at osc.gov/Pages/HatchAct.aspx and www.dod.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/resource_library/deskbook/political_activities.pdf.