Full Committee Hearing "Serving and Voting: Oversight of the Federal Voting Assistance Program”

Committee on House Administration

2025-06-24

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The hearing of the Committee on House Administration focused on the oversight of the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens' Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), aiming to identify ways to enhance voting access for active duty military personnel and overseas citizens.[ 00:06:32-00:06:36 ] [ 00:08:19-00:08:27 ]

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 While acknowledging the critical role of these programs, participants expressed concerns about low voter participation rates and the practical challenges faced by military and overseas voters.[ 00:09:36-00:09:38 ]

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Themes

Challenges in Military and Overseas Voting

Active duty military and overseas citizens face significant hurdles in exercising their right to vote.[ 00:11:51 ]

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 Only 26% of active duty military voters covered by UOCAVA cast ballots in the 2022 general election, significantly lower than the national average, and the participation rate for overseas citizens was an estimated 3.4%.[ 00:09:38 ]

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[ 00:12:07 ]

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 Key obstacles identified include issues with ballot delivery, with 15% of military voters reporting not receiving their ballot in time or at all.[ 00:12:00 ]

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 Other challenges encompass time, distance, and mobility, leading to situations where military families might not receive ballots or have to pay for courier services.[ 00:12:15 ]

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 These difficulties are often exacerbated for non-federal and off-cycle local elections, and service members are not automatically registered to vote upon enlistment.[ 00:45:49 ]

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Federal Voting Assistance Program's Role and Efforts

The FVAP is responsible for implementing UOCAVA, which is the sole federal statute dedicated to protecting the voting rights of active duty military, their families, and overseas citizens.[ 00:08:39 ]

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 FVAP aims to inform, educate, and empower UOCAVA voters globally, primarily through its website, FVAP.gov, which provides state-specific voting information and tools.[ 00:17:35 ]

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 The program trains nearly 3,000 voting assistance officers, conducts voting emphasis weeks, and uses targeted digital communication and social media to reach voters.[ 00:17:44 ]

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 FVAP also works closely with state and local election officials to ensure compliance with UOCAVA requirements, such as the 45-day ballot transmission period and electronic blank ballot delivery, and provides postage-free envelope templates. The local election office holds the responsibility for verifying voter identity.[ 00:22:00 ]

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 The FVAP emphasizes its role in facilitating the voting process by providing tools and resources, rather than operating as a "get out the vote" campaign.[ 00:38:45-00:39:08 ]

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Partisan Disagreements and Legislative Concerns

A significant point of contention arose regarding legislative proposals that could impact military and overseas voters. Ranking Member Morelle criticized House Republicans for advancing the SAVE Act and a President's executive order, which he argued would "severely hinder ballot access" by potentially ending mail and online voter registration, thus requiring impossible in-person registration for many overseas military members. Witnesses from FVAP maintained a neutral stance on these legislative proposals, stating that the department would provide formal responses if they passed into law.[ 00:25:06 ]

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 Concerns were also raised about the FVAP's capacity, as it currently has seven employees, with three having taken retirement packages, though Dr. Clark affirmed their ability to fulfill UOCAVA requirements with current resources.[ 00:47:40 ]

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[ 00:48:17 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The overall tone of the meeting was respectful and professional, with all members acknowledging the importance of supporting military and overseas voting.[ 00:07:09 ] [ 00:11:48 ]

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[ 00:17:01 ]

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 However, there was an underlying tension due to partisan disagreements over election legislation, particularly concerning the potential impact of proposed bills like the SAVE Act on voting access. Despite these differences, members expressed a bipartisan commitment to finding ways to improve voting access for these critical populations.[ 00:29:15 ]

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Participants

Transcript

That's true.  The Committee on House Administration will come to order.  The title of today's hearing is Serving and Voting Oversight of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.  I note that a quorum is present.  And without objection, the chair may declare a recess at any time.   Also, without objection, the hearing record will remain open for five legislative days so members may submit materials they wish to be included therein.  Thank you, Ranking Member Morelle, members of the committee, and our witnesses for participating in today's hearing.  Before we begin, it's not lost on me as a veteran of the United States Air Force who did two overseas tours that while we are here today discussing how we can make it easier for active duty military to vote   Our troops serving overseas are serving our nation in harm's way on a daily basis.  Now more than ever, it's important that we are doing all we can to support our troops who are putting their lives on the line for this country.   I'm thankful for their service, and I am praying for their safe return home.  Free, fair, and secure elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and it's our brave service members that defend that right for all Americans.  As a committee with oversight authority of federal elections, it's important that we take a look at the laws and procedures in place for our active duty military voters.   More specifically, we'll be looking at the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens' Absentee Voting Act, commonly known as UOCAVA, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program to provide oversight to determine if improvements are needed.   UOCAVA, which was enacted in 1986, is the only federal statute that is solely devoted to protecting the access to vote for active duty military, their family members, and other overseas citizens.  UOCAVA has not been subject to significant congressional oversight in over a decade.  The Federal Voting Assistance Program, or FVAP, is responsible for administering daily responsibilities of UOCAVA under the direction of the Secretary of Defense.
In other words, the FVAP is responsible for helping our service members vote in their respective state and local jurisdictions.  Both UOCAVA and the FVAP ensure that service members who want to vote have the opportunity to do so.  According to the FVAP, approximately 950,000 active duty military are eligible to vote under UOCAVA.  However, not every active duty service member registers to vote.   During the 2022 election, 63% of active duty military voters uncovered are covered by UOCAVA, both in the United States and abroad, successfully registered to vote.  Unfortunately, an even smaller percentage of those who registered actually cast their ballot in 2022 general election.  Only 26% of active duty military voters covered by UOCAVA cast their ballot for the for the election.  However,   In their most recent report to Congress, FVAP highlighted that active duty military who sought assistance from FVAP were three times more likely to cast their ballot.  In 2022, the FVAP distributed nearly 200,000 pieces of educational and outreach materials to voters at 105 military installations worldwide.   Additionally, the FVAP responded to over 12,000 inquiries to its call center.  While FVAP has made strong headway with boosting voter participation amongst UOCAVA voters, there is more that can be done.  Every registered American citizen should have the resources they need to participate in our democracy.  Our service members who put their lives on the line to defend that same democracy should not be an exception.   I hope today we are able to find ways to increase turnout among active duty military voters ahead of the 2026 general election.  I thank our witnesses for being here today and I look forward to having a robust conversation with all of you on this critical issue.   Before I close my remarks, I'd like to highlight we'll be test piloting a new closed caption technology during today's hearing.
This technology was approved by the Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation and will soon be available to all House committees.  I thank our witnesses for being here today and I look forward to our discussion.  I now recognize the ranking member, Mr. Morelle, for five minutes for the purposes of providing an opening statement.
good morning and thank you chairman lotter milk and to chairman style and to thank you certainly to our witnesses for being here today the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act or you'll kava   is a critical component of our efforts to make sure every American, no matter where they live, has an opportunity to vote.  The law provides protections for millions of voters, such as requiring states send ballots to voters at least 45 days ahead of federal elections, and the availability of a federal write-in absentee ballot, a backup ballot, essentially that allows overseas and military voters to still cast a ballot in federal elections if their ballot does not arrive in time.   And while UOCAVA is a good start, there is work to be done.  According to the Pentagon in 2022, and some of the statistics my colleague just cited, but I think they bear repeating, 15% of military voters reported that they either did not receive the ballot in time or the ballot never arrived.   and the voter participation rate for service members was 26% well below national averages.  Additionally, the overall voting rate for overseas citizens in 2022 was an estimated 3.4% due in part or real to either real or perceived obstacles to casting a ballot   from overseas At an April hearing we heard testimony about service members and their spouses never receiving their ballots others paying out-of-pocket For a courier service to return their ballot from abroad When they could not access the mail system and families stationed in Japan whose mail routinely takes six to eight weeks to arrive and   And in addition, I spent time along with Chairman Stile in both Japan and in Korea, where Korea we met with members of the United States Army about the challenges they faced in receiving ballots.  So we could and we should be working in a bipartisan way to improve
access to the ballot for military and overseas voters.  Instead, what we've had over the last couple of years is my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have advanced policies that severely hinder ballot access and would disenfranchise service members, their families, and millions of other overseas voters.  The SAVE Act and the President's illegal anti-voting executive order would fundamentally disrupt American elections and severely impact the ability of military and overseas voters to vote.

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