Testimony by Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman before the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee regarding House Bill 1149, the Military and Overseas Absentee Voting Bill

February 6, 2007 - In October of 2005 I was serving with the United States Marine Corps in Iraq. My assignment was at a base camp just outside of Fallujah in Al Anbar province.

I was so focused on helping the Iraqis with their October 15th Constitution Referendum that I almost forgot about the off-year election back home in Colorado. Concerned that there was not enough time left to mail my request for an Absentee Ballot to my County Clerk, Nancy Doty, I emailed her asking for advice.

Clerk Doty checked with the Secretary of State’s office and found that current rules allowed her to fax me an application for an Absentee Ballot. I would then sign it and fax it back. Unfortunately, the military does not keep fax machines in combat zones. However, we did have access to email. So a copy of the application could be sent… downloaded… signed… and emailed back.

But there was a problem. The Secretary of State’s rules had not been updated to reflect the current realities in Iraq and Afghanistan and I was not able to use email.

I was not able to vote in the 2005 election.

The outdated rule was changed by Secretary Dennis in October 2006, so a soldier or a Marine in this circumstance today would be able to get an absentee ballot in time to vote.

But it was my next assignment, in the harsh reality of life in a remote forward operating base of Iraq, where the impetus for House Bill 1149 was found.

In January 2006, after helping to coordinate the election for Iraq’s first constitutionally-elected government, I began a new assignment in the Western Euphrates River Valley. As a civil affairs governance officer, I was responsible for assisting in the establishment of interim local governments in Haditah, Haqlaniyah, and Barwana.

The Marines in the river valley were spread out in small forward operating bases located in each of the towns; they shared these small compounds with Iraqi soldiers and had none of the conveniences of the soldiers and Marines in the larger, more secure, base camps.

They went out on patrol almost every day. Many were already on their third tour of duty in Iraq. Access to email was limited and there was absolutely no capability to download documents from a computer.

If – like me – they forget about when they need to mail a request for their absentee ballots and they can’t download the application off the internet, then there is no way for them to vote.

And let’s face it… when you’re focus is on the day-to-day stresses of trying to survive in a combat zone, it’s not uncommon to forget about applying for an absentee ballot before an election.

House Bill 1149 seeks to allow a commissioned officer to sign for the Absentee Ballot Requests of individual soldiers or Marines who are not in a position to do so. It will also require the Secretary of State to work with Colorado National Guard and Reserve units prior to their deployment to a combat zone, to directly help them with their requests for Absentee Ballots.

Of all of the freedoms bestowed upon Americans, the most sacred is the right to vote. We should make sure that those who are willing to make tremendous sacrifices to defend our freedoms are never denied that right.

HB 1149 is one more step to ensure that every member of our armed forces serving in a combat zone, who calls Colorado home, can vote if they so choose.

I strongly urge committee members to support this bill, and help ensure our brave men and women of the armed forces always have the opportunity to vote.