Pew Applauds Tennessee for Military and Overseas Voting Improvements

Press Releases and Statements Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives

Navigate to:

  • Table of Contents
Pew Applauds Tennessee for Military and Overseas Voting Improvements

Tennessee took steps this week to improve the voting procedure for service members and citizens overseas as Governor Bill Haslam, Thursday evening, signed HB1081/SB 875 into law, ensuring Tennesseans abroad who do not receive their official ballot in time can participate in all elections.

House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R- Chattanooga, District 26), a U.S. Army veteran, initiated and led efforts to pass the House bill, while Senator Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville, District 26), a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, sponsored the Senate version. Both passed unanimously in the two chambers with a significant number of cosponsors and overwhelming bipartisan support.

“We commend Rep. McCormick for championing this legislation to help ensure that service members and civilians abroad will be able to participate more easily in all elections, even when they don't receive an official ballot in time,” said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. “We also thank Sen. Gresham for her leadership and significant support on this important issue.”

The new law is especially critical in Tennessee, a state with a military personnel population that ranks among the top third in the nation. Improvements in the federal elections process were achieved in 2009 when Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The new Tennessee law includes protections contained in the 2010 Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, a model law developed by the Uniform Law Commission that addresses common problems across states for these voters.

Specifically, the new law requires that the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (a back-up measure for voters who don't receive their official ballots in time):

  • is accepted for all elections in which a person is eligible to vote; and
  • may be used simultaneously for registration and an absentee ballot request.

In 1952, President Harry Truman urged reform of an election system that disenfranchised those serving in the military in World War II and in the post-war reconstruction. The Pew Center on the States documented the significant challenges our service members still face casting a ballot in the report No Time to Vote, and is currently working on a full complement of related election system reforms. Pew has also been examining the problems posed by the nation's outdated voter registration system and partners with election officials to evaluate options for building a system that is more efficient, accurate, costs less and reduces administrative burdens.

For more information on Pew's Election Initiatives, visit www.pewstates.org/elections.

The Pew Center on the States is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that identifies and advances effective solutions to critical issues facing states. Pew is a nonprofit organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. www.pewstates.org.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Projects
Election Initiatives

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Voting Information Project

Article

June 18, 2018 Voting Information Project Gets New Home
Vote button

Fact Sheet

March 28, 2018 Colorado Upgrades Motor Voter System
Motor voter system

Fact Sheet

February 28, 2018 Virginia Builds a More Effective Motor Voter System

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.