PR: Pierce County will meet the MOVE Act deadline
Posted on September 6, 2010The Pierce County Auditor’s Office will meet a federal mandate to mail military and overseas ballots out 45-days before the General Election. In late 2009, congress passed the MOVE (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) Act, which requires all states to send out military ballots earlier than ever before. The Secretary of State’s Office applied for a waiver due to the tight time-frame between the Primary and General Elections.
Pierce County is rising to the challenge. “Clearly, election timelines need to change in order for all counties to achieve reliable, consistent compliance,” commented Julie Anderson, Pierce County Auditor. “This year the conditions in Pierce County were good and we were prepared.” Anderson continued, “However, a recount or legal challenge would have prevented us from meeting the deadline.”
“We are very pleased that Pierce County will be able to meet the 45-day advance mailing deadline for military and overseas voters, particularly because Pierce County has such a large military population. This is great news for military and overseas voters from Pierce County, and we commend the hard work of the fine elections staff,” commented Sam Reed, Washington Secretary of State.
“With Joint Base Lewis McChord, we have over 9,000 overseas voters and military personnel in our area. That fact heightened our sense of responsibility and our desire to meet the deadline,” said Anderson. The Auditor’s Office prepared a timeline and plan months ago. “We weren’t certain the Office of the Secretary of State would ask for the waiver,” commented Anderson. “And, we weren’t sure the waiver would be granted.”
It’s not too late to register to vote or update your address. Pierce County voters can update their address at piercecountywa.org/auditor. Washington voters can update their address at vote.wa.gov. Military and Overseas voters who are residents of other states can visit www.fvap.gov.
The Pierce County Auditor’s Office is responsible for elections, licensing services, a variety of public records and animal control services.
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1 Comments
September 7th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Kudos to Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson and her staff for having the foresight in pre-planning to ensure the county's 9,050 military and overseas voters will get their ballots in time to meet the 45 day advance mailing deadline and virtually guarantee their ballots will be counted.
The auditor's extra work and any overtime involved to tweak the ballots and meet the deadline pays tribute to the many military voters serving in harm's way all over the world, and in combat in places like Afghanistan. We need to remember that those military voters are fighting for the very right of all Americans to vote, and have it count. I for one, as a retired military officer, appreciate the dedication and astute management we have in the Pierce County Auditor's office, and I'm sure many Pierce County military and overseas voters will feel the same come November 2nd, when their ballot counts!