Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) announced his new legislation, the Voting Overseas Treated Equally for Servicemembers (VOTES) Act. This bill would close loopholes for all servicemembers to be able to vote in U.S. elections.
According to Rep. Frost’s press release, potentially thousands of U.S. Servicemembers who are part of military drills or critical training exercises but never receive “active duty” status could be kept from voting.
“In 2021 alone there were over 760,000 Reserve and National Guard servicemembers and it’s unclear how many of those folks were stationed overseas and unable to participate in our democracy,” the press release mentioned.
Rep. Frost called this prospect a “huge oversight of our government.”
“As it stands right now, thousands of service members, many of whom have put their lives on the line and sacrificed being close to their families and friends in order to serve this country, are unable to participate in elections,” said Frost. “It is a huge oversight of our government that these servicemembers doing their honorable duty to defend and protect our democracy are currently being excluded from our democratic process. The VOTES Act is our opportunity to extend the guarantee of being able to participate in democracy to all servicemembers, not just some.”
Mary Kaszynski, Director of Government Relations for VoteVets endorsed the bill, saying that it is “important in preserving the greatest democracy the world has ever known.”
“Voting by mail continues to be a crucial tool in allowing our servicemembers to take part in the democracy that they've sworn to defend,” said Director Kaszynski. “Expanding eligibility and encouraging our Troops and their families to take part in our elections is not just the right thing to do, but important in preserving the greatest democracy the world has ever known. We applaud Representative Frost for leading this vital effort to protect democracy and the rights of military servicemembers.”
Frost is part of a small minority in Congress – including Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) – that has called for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Recently, the Florida congressman released a statement saying “Antisemitism is a serious and real problem.
“Antisemitism is a serious and real problem across the country. Yesterday the House voted on a resolution that included important sentiments condemning antisemitism on campuses, but Republicans added falsehoods & inaccuracies that push unhelpful misinformation,” said Rep. Frost.
Frost is a freshman congressman representing Florida’s 10th District.
