Florida Reps. Brian Mast (R) and Mike Waltz (R) are calling out the Pentagon for not helping service members vote. Alongside Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga (R), the Republican lawmakers accuse the Pentagon of being negligent in facilitating active duty armed service members across the country and overseas of voting in the 2024 presidential election.
The Republican lawmakers directed a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, calling on him to mobilize the necessary resources to make sure that all eligible active duty service members have the opportunity to vote if they would like to.
Joe Biden & Kamala Harris are failing to facilitate the right to vote for our men and women in uniform.
I’m calling on the Pentagon to mobilize every resource necessary so our nation’s elite warriors don’t miss out on voting for the next commander-in-chief. pic.twitter.com/WY1BFmtWvC
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) November 1, 2024
"Our nation's brave men and women in uniform brought to our attention that there has been inadequate education at the administrative level on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and fill in a federal write-in absentee ballot if their state-issued ballot does not arrive in time," the lawmakers wrote. "Other service members also stated that when a request for a federal write-in absentee ballot was made, they were told the base's stockpile of such ballots was depleted and had not been replenished," they further warned.
Rep. Mast issued a statement, similarly calling out President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D).
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have mobilized federal manpower, resources, and tax dollars to block state-level election integrity measure, including in Georgia and Virginia, through lawsuits and smears," Rep. Mast said, adding that "they claim to care about democracy and the right to vote, yet they've failed to plan accordingly to facilitate the right to vote for every single one of our nation's brave men and women in uniform." Calling it "unacceptable," the Florida Republican expressed that "our nation's elite warriors deserve to have every opportunity to vote for the next commander-in-chief, especially since that person will be making life-and-death decisions for our troops.”
Rep. Waltz also issued a statement, accusing the incumbent president of dismissing service members "by either falsely claiming the U.S. has suffered no casualties under this administration or by claiming thousands of these service members aren’t in active combat zones.” “We need assurances these service members who are putting their lives on the line for our country have the information and tools they need to cast their ballot to vote," he added.
