Sen. Cornyn, Secretary Berry Highlight Efforts To End Disenfranchisement Of Military Voters

Saturday, I was joined by Texas Secretary of State Nandita Berry and representatives from several veterans organizations at the National United States Armed Forces Museum to discuss efforts to improve outreach and assistance to military voters at home and overseas.

It is a cruel irony that those who fight to defend our democratic system are being disenfranchised in the process. It’s unacceptable, and we owe it to our military voters to remove as many obstacles to voting as we can. I’m pleased to work with Secretary Berry on this important issue and I’ll be pushing for passage of the SENTRI Act in the Senate to take some immediate steps to improve access and assistance to our military voters and their families.

For too long, members of the military and their families have faced tremendous hurdles in attempting to participate in elections. Because of frequent moves between military installations and overseas locations, military personnel’s mailing addresses are constantly changing and as a result, thousands have failed to receive requested absentee ballots.

Before the 2012 election, the number of absentee ballot requests in states across the country had decreased dramatically, with some states reporting only 2 percent of eligible military voters having requested absentee ballots. I have introduced bipartisan legislation, The Safeguarding Elections for our Nation’s Troops through Reforms and Improvements (SENTRI) Act, S.1728, to expand access to voting for military voters and improve voting assistance opportunities.