REPORT NAMES IOWA TOP STATE IN MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTING

DES MOINES - Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro announced today that Iowa ranked first in a national report on the ease of military and overseas voting.

The report titled, "It’s in the Mail: Surveying UOCAVA Voters and Barriers to Voting," was published by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF). The study scores the states based on successful implementation of federal overseas voting legislation using data from the 2008 General Election.

"On the eve of this Veterans Day, I am proud to say Iowa is leading the nation in ensuring our military men and women serving overseas are able to exercise a right that many of us at home may take for granted," said Secretary Mauro. "We have implemented a number of improvements with the goal of simplifying the process for military and overseas voters and will continue to work towards making certain every overseas voter has an opportunity to vote in all future elections."

Prior to the 2008 General Election, Mauro adopted new rules to give military and overseas voters the ability to receive unvoted ballots by email or fax. This was a vast improvement to the election process for these voters, increasing the likelihood that voters receive ballots soon enough to complete them and return them before the deadline.

In a press release, the OVF notes top-scoring states have "voting policies that are the easiest to navigate for overseas and military voters."

For more information on the report and its methodology, visit www.overseasvotefoundation.org/press-2009-media-releases-uocava-spi. The report can also be accessed directly by visiting https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/files/OVF_Research_IN-THE-MAIL-Smith(2.Sep_.2009)_0.pdf.

More information on military and overseas voting in Iowa can be found by visiting www.sos.state.ia.us/elections/voterinformation/UOCAVA.html.

###