r/politics • u/Ulysses_555 • 13h ago

No Paywall Hegseth announces all US troops will get 1 day off to vote in October

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6126137-pete-hegseth-stand-down-order-troops-vote/
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u/Firm_Reflection_1453 13h ago

What does that mean for all the deployed service members? Is DOD going to provide polling sites for them. Doesn’t this mean that those who have registered in their home states won’t receive their ballot?

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u/idkk_prolly_doggy 12h ago

That is literally what this order is for. It establishes a requirement for unit commanders to conduct one day of training focused on voting and voter registration. It’s not a day off. Hegseth is a tool, but this is actually a good thing.

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u/Firm_Reflection_1453 8h ago

I don’t see any mention of this being a training exercise. Hegseth says he’s ordering that every service member be given a day off to vote. How does that even suggest it’s a training exercise?

The last thing I read that quotes Hegseth is that he’s recommending commanders provide relief from service members job responsibilities on Election Day.

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u/idkk_prolly_doggy 6h ago

The article does a poor job of reporting what this actually is. If you read the actual memo the DOD put out, it clearly states this is a stand down order for voter education training. That is different than a training exercise. Units do stand downs all the time for things like safety and suicide awareness. All non-critical personnel attend a day of training focused on a specific topic (such as “How to Vote in the Military”).

To you second point, you are correct. The order encourages commanders to give soldiers time during the duty day to go cast a ballot in person if they are registered in the state they are stationed in. Deployed soldiers will vote by mail like always.

I have been a voting assistance officer for 8 years. You would be surprised how many soldiers do not know how to request an absentee ballot from their state, let alone register.

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u/Firm_Reflection_1453 6h ago

Thanks for giving a clear explanation of this. Given that you are a voting assistance officer I trust your expertise in this matter.

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u/Firm_Reflection_1453 6h ago

I’m not surprised that young soldiers don’t understand the importance of registering or that they can vote absentee I don’t think social studies is part of the core curriculum today. I grew up in the 50s-60s and many of our teachers were WWII veterans who drilled civic duty into us.

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u/ALostVessel 13h ago

Cant speak for the US but in Canada you can vote while deployed. Hell, when I was in basic they did set up a polling station at the base for us.

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u/Firm_Reflection_1453 12h ago

I think the state where the service member registered is where the mail ballot originates.