    [House Hearing, 119 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                        SERVING AND VOTING: OVERSIGHT OF
                     THE FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                               COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
                                 ADMINISTRATION

                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION
                                   __________

                                 JUNE 24, 2025
                                   __________

          Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration

                   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                 www.govinfo.gov
                               www.cha.house.gov

                                    ______

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    60-782                     WASHINGTON : 2025

                       COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                        BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin, Chairman

    LAUREL LEE, Florida, Vice Chair      JOSEPH MORELLE, New York,
    BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia              Ranking Member
    H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia         TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
    GREG MURPHY, North Carolina          NORMA TORRES, California
    STEPHANIE BICE, Oklahoma             JULIE JOHNSON, Texas
    MARY MILLER, Illinois
    MIKE CAREY, Ohio

                          Mike Platt,  Staff Director
                     Jamie Fleet,  Minority Staff Director

                             C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                               Opening Statements

    The Honorable Barry Loudermilk, Representative from the State of
      Georgia........................................................     1
        Prepared statement of Barry Loudermilk.......................     3
    Ranking Member Joseph Morelle, Representative from the State of
      New York.......................................................     3
        Prepared statement of Ranking Member Joseph Morelle..........     5

                                   Witnesses

    Dr. Liz Clark, director, Defense Services Support Center.........    11
        Prepared statement of Dr. Liz Clark..........................    13
    Scott Wiedmann, director, Federal Voting Assistance Program......    22

                           Submissions for the Record

    SAVE Act opposition letter.......................................     7
    Vet Voice Foundation letter......................................     9
    Secure Families Initiative statement.............................    30
    U.S. Vote Foundation statement...................................    31
    Vet Voice Foundation statement...................................    37

                            Questions for the Record

    Scott Wiedmann answers to submitted questions....................    41

                              SERVING AND VOTING:
                            OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL
                           VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

                                  ----------

                                 June 24, 2025

                              Committee on House Administration,
                                           House of Representatives,
                                                       Washington, D.C.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:35 a.m., in
    room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Bryan Steil
    [chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Steil, Loudermilk, Murphy, Carey,
    Morelle, Sewell, Torres, and Johnson.
        Staff present: Mike Platt, Staff Director; Rachel Collins,
    General Counsel; Abby Salter, Parliamentarian; Jordan Wilson,
    Director of Member Services; Kristen Monterroso, Director of
    Operations; Josh Weber, Counsel; Annemarie Cake, Professional
    Staff and Deputy Clerk; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director;
    Khalil Abboud, Minority Deputy Staff Director; Sean Wright,
    Minority Chief Counsel; Sarah Nasta, Minority Senior Advisor;
    Nikolas Youngsmith, Minority Elections Counsel; and Owen
    Reilly, Minority Professional Staff.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BARRY LOUDERMILK, A U.S.
                REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

        Mr. Loudermilk.
        [Presiding.] The Committee on House Administration will
    come to order.
        The title of today's hearing is ``Serving and Voting:
    Oversight of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.''
        I note that a quorum is present and, without objection, the
    chair may declare a recess at any time.
        Also, without objection, the hearing record will remain
    open for 5 legislative days so Members may submit materials
    they wish to be included therein.
        Thank you, Ranking Member Morelle, Members of the
    Committee, and our witnesses, for participating in today's
    hearing.
        Before we begin, it is not lost on me, as a veteran of the
    United States Air Force who did two overseas tours, that while
    we are here today discussing how we can make it easier for
    active-duty military to vote, our troops serving overseas are
    serving our Nation in harm's way on a daily basis.
        Now more than ever, it is important that we are doing all
    we can to support our troops who are putting their lives on the
    line for this country. I am thankful for their service and I am
    praying for their safe return home.
        Free, fair, and secure elections are the cornerstone of our
    democracy, and it is our brave servicemembers that defend that
    right for all Americans. As the Committee with oversight
    authority of Federal elections, it is important that we take a
    look at the laws and procedures in place for our active-duty
    military voters. More specifically, we will be looking at the
    Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, commonly
    known as UOCAVA, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program, to
    provide oversight to determine if improvements are needed.
        UOCAVA, which was enacted in 1986, is the only Federal
    statute that is solely devoted to protecting the access to vote
    for active-duty military, their family members, and other
    overseas citizens. UOCAVA has not been subject to significant
    congressional oversight in over a decade.
        The Federal Voting Assistance Program, or FVAP, is
    responsible for administering daily responsibilities of UOCAVA
    under the direction of the Secretary of Defense. In other
    words, the FVAP is responsible for helping our servicemembers
    vote in their respective State and local jurisdictions.
        Both UOCAVA and the FVAP ensure that servicemembers who
    want to vote have the opportunity to do so. According to the
    FVAP, approximately 950,000 active-duty military are eligible
    to vote under UOCAVA. However, not every active-duty
    servicemember registers to vote.
        During the 2022 election, 63 percent of active-duty
    military voters covered by UOCAVA, both in the United States
    and abroad, successfully registered to vote. Unfortunately, an
    even smaller percentage of those who registered actually cast
    their ballot.
        In the 2022 general election, only 26 percent of active-
    duty military voters covered by UOCAVA cast their ballot for
    the election. However, in their most recent report to Congress,
    FVAP highlighted that active-duty military who sought
    assistance from FVAP were three times more likely to cast their
    ballot.
        In 2022, the FVAP distributed nearly 200,000 pieces of
    educational and outreach materials to voters at 105 military
    installations worldwide. Additionally, the FVAP responded to
    over 12,000 inquiries to its call center.
        While FVAP has made strong headway with boosting voter
    participation amongst UOCAVA voters, there is more that can be
    done. Every registered American citizen should have the
    resources they need to participate in our democracy. Our
    servicemembers who put their lives on the line to defend that
    same democracy should not be an exception.
        I hope today we are able to find ways to increase turnout
    among active-duty military voters ahead of the 2026 general
    election.
        I thank our witnesses for being here today, and I look
    forward to having a robust conversation with all of you on this
    critical issue.
        Before I close my remarks, I would like to highlight, we
    will be test piloting a new closed caption technology during
    today's hearing. This technology was approved by the
    Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation and will soon be
    available to all House Committees.
        I thank our witnesses for being here today, and I look
    forward to our discussion.
        I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Morelle, for 5
    minutes for the purposes of providing an opening statement.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Loudermilk follows:]

             PREPARED STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE BARRY
                             LOUDERMILK

        Free, fair and secure elections are the cornerstone of our
    democracy, and it is our brave servicemembers that defend that
    right for all Americans. As the Committee with oversight
    authority of Federal elections, it is important that we take a
    look at the laws and procedures in place for our active-duty
    military voters.
        More specifically, we will be looking at the Uniformed and
    Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, commonly referred to as
    UOCAVA, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program, to provide
    oversight and determine if improvements are needed. UOCAVA,
    which was enacted in 1986, is the only Federal statute that is
    solely devoted to protecting the access to vote for active-duty
    military, their family members, and other overseas citizens.
        UOCAVA has not been subject to significant congressional
    oversight in over a decade. The Federal Voting Assistance
    Program, or FVAP, is responsible for administering daily
    responsibilities of UOCAVA under the direction of the Secretary
    of Defense. In other words, the FVAP is responsible for helping
    our servicemembers vote in their respective State and local
    jurisdictions. Both UOCAVA and the FVAP ensure that
    servicemembers who want to vote have the opportunity to do so.
        According to the FVAP, approximately 950,000 active-duty
    military are eligible to vote under UOCAVA. However, not every
    active-duty servicemember registers to vote. During the 2022
    general election, 63% of active-duty military voters covered by
    UOCAVA, both in the United States and abroad, successfully
    registered to vote. Unfortunately, an even smaller percentage
    of those who registered actually cast their ballot. In the 2022
    general election, only 26% of active-duty military voters
    covered by UOCAVA cast their ballot for the election. However,
    in their most recent report to Congress, FVAP highlighted that
    active-duty military who sought assistance from FVAP were three
    times more likely to cast their ballot.
        In 2022, the FVAP distributed nearly 200,000 pieces of
    educational and outreach materials to voters at 105 military
    installations worldwide. Additionally, the FVAP responded to
    over 12,000 inquiries to its call center. While the FVAP has
    made strong headway with boosting voter participation amongst
    UOCAVA voters, there is more that can be done. Every registered
    American citizen should have the resources they need to
    participate in our democracy. Our servicemembers who put their
    lives on the line to defend that same democracy should not be
    an exception.
        I hope today we are able to find ways to increase turnout
    among active-duty military voters ahead of the 2026 general
    election. I thank our witnesses for being here today and I look
    forward to having a robust conversation with all of you on this
    critical issue. Before I close my remarks, I would like
    highlight that we will be test-piloting new closed caption
    technology during today's hearing. This technology was approved
    by the Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation, and will
    soon be available to all House Committees. I thank our
    witnesses for being here today and I look forward to our
    discussion.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH MORELLE, RANKING
           MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION,
           A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK

        Mr. Morelle. Good morning. Thank you, Chairman Loudermilk
    and to Chairman Steil, and thank you certainly to our witnesses
    for being here today.
        The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or
    UOCAVA, is a critical component of our efforts to make sure
    every American, no matter where they live, has an opportunity
    to vote.
        The law provides protections for millions of voters, such
    as requiring States to send ballots to voters at least 45 days
    ahead of Federal elections, and the availability of a Federal
    write-in absentee ballot, a backup ballot, essentially, that
    allows overseas and military voters to still cast a ballot in
    Federal elections if their ballot does not arrive in time.
        While UOCAVA is a good start, there is work to be done.
    According to the Pentagon, in 2022--and some of the statistics
    my colleague just cited, but I think they bear repeating--15
    percent of military voters reported that they either did not
    receive the ballot in time or the ballot never arrived. The
    voter participation rate for servicemembers was 26 percent,
    well, well below national averages. Additionally, the overall
    voting rate for overseas citizens in 2022 was an estimated 3.4
    percent due, in part, to either real or perceived obstacles to
    casting a ballot from overseas.
        At an April hearing, we heard testimony about
    servicemembers and their spouses never receiving their ballots,
    others paying out of pocket for a courier service to return
    their ballot from abroad when they could not access the mail
    system, and families stationed in Japan whose mail routinely
    takes 6 to 8 weeks to arrive.
        In addition, I spent time, along with Chairman Steil, in
    both Japan and in Korea, where Korea we met with members of the
    United States Army about the challenges they faced in receiving
    ballots.
        We could and we should be working in a bipartisan way to
    improve access to the ballot for military and overseas voters.
    Instead, what we have had over the last couple of years is my
    colleagues on the other side of the aisle have advanced
    policies that severely hinder ballot access and would
    disenfranchise servicemembers, their families, and millions of
    other overseas voters.
        The SAVE Act and the President's illegal anti-voting
    executive order would fundamentally disrupt American elections
    and severely impact the ability of military and overseas voters
    to vote. For instance, their agenda, their bills, and the
    executive order would end mail and online voter registration.
    Their plan also requires voters to register in person at their
    local elections office, something common sense tells you many
    military and overseas voters cannot do. If you are stationed in
    Japan, it is going to make it really difficult for you to
    register at your local Board of Elections.
        House Republicans passed the SAVE Act despite overseas
    voters asking them not to and despite the fact that we
    repeatedly on this side of the aisle cautioned them that doing
    that would make it much, much more difficult, almost
    impossible, for military personnel to register to vote.
        In April, I wanted to invite a witness, a military spouse
    currently stationed overseas, who could have given voice to the
    experience of overseas voters and whose testimony we could have
    easily facilitated. Unfortunately, House Republicans did not
    want to hear from her and they denied the request.
        I am grateful to the witnesses here today. Thank you for
    your service to the country and to those who seek to vote from
    abroad.
        I had hoped we would also hear from voters these laws
    impact. Pavan Parikh is the Clerk of Courts in Hamilton County,
    Ohio. He also served on the Ohio Ballot Board. He is also a JAG
    officer in the United States Army Reserve who has served
    overseas, a local official serving his community and the
    elections process who has served his country in uniform.
        He would have made a great witness, would have added to the
    witnesses we have, which I am grateful for. Again, my
    colleagues denied our request to have him appear at this
    hearing. I hope the Committee can hear from him and others like
    him very soon. I think they have something to add and their
    perspective would be welcome.
        In over 2 years of being in the majority, this is the first
    hearing held by my friends focusing on military and overseas
    voting. The VOTES Act, championed by Elections Subcommittee
    Chair Laurel Lee and Congressman Maxwell Frost, is a bipartisan
    bill which would actually increase military voter access, and
    we should move that bill forward. As I said in April, Democrats
    would happily waive this Committee's notice requirements to
    call the VOTES Act up right now to send it once again to the
    full House.
        We have put forward numerous policies that would increase
    ballot access and, as always the case, there is never any proof
    to things like what the President has said about voting from
    abroad and overseas in the last election, because there is
    never any proof to anything he says about the difficulties in
    doing it.
        Let us focus on ways to improve access. I think we are
    happy to work in a bipartisan way to expand access to people
    and we will advance legislation to help them.
        I want to thank the chair. I look forward to--and I would
    like to--before I yield back, Mr. Chair, I would ask unanimous
    consent to insert into the record a letter from U.S. Vote
    Foundation, Secure Families Initiative, Blue Star Families, the
    Association of Americans Resident Overseas, the American
    Citizens Abroad, and the Federation of American Women's Clubs
    Overseas, as well as a letter from the Vet Voice Foundation,
    urging opposition to the SAVE Act and outlining ways in which
    it would create barriers to the ballot box for overseas voters.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Without objection.
        [The prepared statement of Ranking Member Morelle follows:]

              PREPARED STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER OF THE
           COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION JOSEPH MORELLE

        The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or
    UOCAVA, is a critical component of our efforts to make sure
    every American, no matter where they live, has an opportunity
    to vote. The law provides protections for millions of voters,
    such as requiring States send ballots to voters at least 45
    days ahead of Federal elections, and the availability of a
    Federal write-in absentee ballot, a backup ballot, essentially,
    that allows overseas and military voters to still cast a ballot
    in Federal elections if their ballot does not arrive in time.
        While UOCAVA is a good start, there is work to be done.
    According to the Pentagon, in 2022 and some of the statistics
    my colleague just cited, but I think they bear repeating 15
    percent of military voters reported that they either did not
    receive the ballot in time or the ballot never arrived. The
    voter participation rate for servicemembers was 26 percent,
    well, well below national averages. Additionally, the overall
    voting rate for overseas citizens in 2022 was an estimated 3.4
    percent due, in part, to either real or perceived obstacles to
    casting a ballot from overseas.
        At an April hearing, we heard testimony about
    servicemembers and their spouses never receiving their ballots,
    others paying out of pocket for a courier service to return
    their ballot from abroad when they could not access the mail
    system, and families stationed in Japan whose mail routinely
    takes 6 to 8 weeks to arrive. In addition, I spent time, along
    with Chairman Steil, in both Japan and in Korea, where Korea we
    met with members of the United States Army about the challenges
    they faced in receiving ballots.
        We could and we should be working in a bipartisan way to
    improve access to the ballot for military and overseas voters.
    Instead, what we have had over the last couple of years is my
    colleagues on the other side of the aisle have advanced
    policies that severely hinder ballot access and would
    disenfranchise servicemembers, their families, and millions of
    other overseas voters.
        The SAVE Act and the President's illegal anti-voting
    executive order would fundamentally disrupt American elections
    and severely impact the ability of military and overseas voters
    to vote. For instance, their agenda, their bills, and the
    executive order would end mail and online voter registration.
    Their plan also requires voters to register in person at their
    local elections office, something common sense tells you many
    military and overseas voters cannot do. If you are stationed in
    Japan, it is going to make it really difficult for you to
    register at your local Board of Elections.
        House Republicans passed the SAVE Act despite overseas
    voters asking them not to and despite the fact that we
    repeatedly on this side of the aisle cautioned them that doing
    that would make it much, much more difficult, almost
    impossible, for military personnel to register to vote. In
    April, I wanted to invite a witness, a military spouse
    currently stationed overseas, who could have given voice to the
    experience of overseas voters and whose testimony we could have
    easily facilitated. Unfortunately, House Republicans did not
    want to hear from her and they denied the request.
        I am grateful to the witnesses here today. Thank you for
    your service to the country and to those who seek to vote from
    abroad. I had hoped we would also hear from voters these laws
    impact. Pavan Parikh is the Clerk of Courts in Hamilton County,
    Ohio. He also served on the Ohio Ballot Board. He is also a JAG
    officer in the United States Army Reserve who has served
    overseas, a local official serving his community and the
    elections process who has served his country in uniform. He
    would have made a great witness, would have added to the
    witnesses we have, which I am grateful for. Again, my
    colleagues denied our request to have him appear at this
    hearing. I hope the Committee can hear from him and others like
    him very soon. I think they have something to add and their
    perspective would be welcome.
        In over 2 years of being in the majority, this is the first
    hearing held by my friends focusing on military and overseas
    voting. The VOTES Act, championed by Elections Subcommittee
    Chair Laurel Lee and Congressman Maxwell Frost, is a bipartisan
    bill which would actually increase military voter access, and
    we should move that bill forward. As I said in April, Democrats
    would happily waive this Committee's notice requirements to
    call the VOTES Act up right now to send it once again to the
    full House.
        We have put forward numerous policies that would increase
    ballot access and, as always the case, there is never any proof
    to things like what the President has said about voting from
    abroad and overseas in the last election, because there is
    never any proof to anything he says about the difficulties in
    doing it. Let us focus on ways to improve access. I think we
    are happy to work in a bipartisan way to expand access to
    people and we will advance legislation to help them.

        [The Morelle letters follow:]

        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. Morelle. Thank you. I yield back, sir.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Without objection, all Members' opening
    statements will be made part of the hearing record if they are
    submitted to the Committee clerk by 5 p.m. today.
        Today we will have one witness panel. Both witnesses are
    from the Department of Defense. First, Dr. Liz Clark, director
    of Defense Services Support Center, who has provided testimony
    and will give an opening statement. Next, we have Scott
    Wiedmann, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program,
    who is here as a subject matter expert.
        We appreciate you both being here with us today and look
    forward to your testimony.
        Dr. Clark, we have read your written statement and it will
    appear in the full hearing record. I now recognize you for 5
    minutes for the purpose of giving an opening statement.

       STATEMENTS OF DR. LIZ CLARK, DIRECTOR, DEFENSE SERV-
        ICES SUPPORT CENTER;  AND SCOTT WIEDMANN, DIRECTOR,
        FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

                       STATEMENT OF DR. LIZ CLARK

        Ms. Clark. Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Morelle, and
    distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the
    opportunity to discuss the Department's implementation of the
    Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA.
    This vital law ensures that our servicemembers, their eligible
    family members, and overseas citizens are aware of their right
    to vote and have the tools and resources to successfully do so
    from anywhere in the world. The Department takes this
    responsibility seriously.
        With me today I have Mr. J. Scott Wiedmann, the Federal
    Voting Assistance Program, or FVAP, director. Mr. Wiedmann has
    been with FVAP for over 32 years. FVAP is the mainstay of our
    efforts to implement UOCAVA and prescribes the two standard
    absentee voting forms allowing voters to communicate directly
    with their election officials to request, receive, and submit
    their ballots. We also work closely with State and local
    election officials who administer elections to ensure they
    understand their responsibilities under UOCAVA.
        Our focus is on ensuring that UOCAVA voters are informed,
    educated, and able to successfully vote from anywhere in the
    world. To do so, we rely on a network of Voting Assistance
    Officers and the military services and the Department of State
    to help deliver that assistance.
        In the lead-up to the 2024 election, we trained nearly
    3,000 Voting Assistance Officers worldwide. They achieved their
    goals by educating voters at the local level and ensuring
    voters are aware of the FVAP.gov website, which provides clear,
    timely, State-specific and accessible voting information.
        In 2024, there were nearly 6 million hits on the FVAP.gov
    website, and more than 600,000 votes used a State-specific
    Federal postcard application tool to assist them in completing
    the form before printing, signing, and sending to their State
    of legal voting residence.
        An online completion assistance tool is also available for
    the Federal write-in absentee ballot, which serves as a backup
    ballot for voters who have not received their requested State
    ballot in a timely manner.
        There is extensive command support from the military
    services to increase awareness and messaging regarding absentee
    voting. Annually, installations support three voting emphasis
    weeks: Armed Forces Voters Week around Independence Day,
    Military Spouse Voters Week in early August, and Absentee
    Voting Week in late September.
        These efforts extend information to family members on both
    domestic and overseas installations through displays, physical
    and electronic banners, and voter registration drives.
        Additionally, the military services provide voter
    registration and absentee ballot request assistance during each
    election cycle in high-traffic areas, such as at Military and
    Family Readiness Centers, Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
    Facilities, medical facilities, commissaries and exchanges.
        To enhance absentee voting awareness directly to the
    voters, we use targeted communication strategies on social
    media and through trusted stakeholder organizations. For
    example, in 2024, we had more than 340 million digital ads
    displayed, 35 million video views, and over 7 million organic
    social media content appearances.
        The FVAP staff works directly with officials at the State
    and local level to ensure FVAP materials have accurate and up-
    to-date election dates, ballot deadlines, and election office
    contact information.
        We brief national and State election official organizations
    to ensure they understand their key responsibilities under
    UOCAVA, including the 45-day ballot transmission and electronic
    blank ballot delivery options, to ensure individuals have time
    to submit their ballot and to notify voters if their
    application was denied.
        We also confirm with election officials that they
    understand the unique aspects specific to UOCAVA voters and
    that they, not FVAP, make the final determinations on voters
    satisfying residency requirements, and that a voter's last
    address in the United States can be used for voting purposes
    while overseas.
        FVAP also provides ballot mailing envelope templates for
    use by election officials, which helps ensure election
    materials sent to UOCAVA voters are postage-free.
        In addition, we actively work to improve UOCAVA absentee
    voting processes through innovation. Congressional funding has
    allowed us to provide grants to State and localities to explore
    best practices, such as improving the electronic blank ballot
    transmission and the use of digital signature verification.
        In closing, Mr. Chairman, I thank you, Ranking Member
    Morelle, and the Members of this Committee for your outstanding
    and continuing support of those who vote under UOCAVA
    protections, and for the men and women who proudly wear the
    uniform in defense of our great Nation.
        We are truly honored to be with you today, and we look
    forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Clark follows:]

                  PREPARED STATEMENT OF DR. LIZ CLARK

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairman Steil.
        [Presiding.] Thank you very much, Dr. Clark. Thank you both
    for being with us today.
        I thank Representative Loudermilk for his assistance in the
    opening as a veteran. This hits close to home I know for him
    but I think for all of us.
        I will recognize myself for 5 minutes for the purpose of
    asking questions.
        I want to dive into the numbers and just stage-set a little
    bit. If we go back to the 2022 general election, the most
    recent midterm, according to the U.S. Census, approximately 69
    percent of the voting age population was registered to vote
    and, of those registered, 52 percent actually voted.
        Then we go over to the UOCAVA side. active-duty military
    voters in particular, according to FVAP, the 2022 congressional
    report, the registration rate was approximately 63 percent, a
    little lower than the national average, but only 26 percent,
    less than half, actually voted, significantly lower than the
    national average.
        I want to use that as a stage setting and then kind of dive
    in here.
        How does FVAP retrieve data for its biennial congressional
    report? I will start with you, Dr. Clark.
        Ms. Clark. Thank you for the question, Chairman.
        I am going to ask Mr. Wiedmann to provide the specific data
    for that.
        Chairman Steil. That would be great.
        Mr. Wiedmann. Good morning, Chairman Steil.
        After each Federal election, we do a series of surveys of
    active-duty military members, the Voting Assistance Officers,
    the election officials and--State election officials. Then in
    2024, for the first time we worked with the Department of
    Defense to do surveys of spouses as well to gather that data.
        Chairman Steil. How much does it cost to run that survey
    and provide the FVAP congressional report? I will allow either
    of you to answer as we bounce between.
        Ms. Clark. No. We will take the cost for the record,
    please.
        Chairman Steil. Do you have an estimate as to what the cost
    is? I would like the number in the record, but do you know what
    the cost is or have an estimate as to what that cost is?
        Mr. Wiedmann. I do not want to answer because I am not sure
    offhand exactly. It is right in the front cover of our report
    because----
        Chairman Steil. OK. We will track it down.
        Let me shift gears again. Do active-duty servicemembers
    face unique obstacles? Obviously, they do. What is FVAP doing
    in particular to make sure that people are voting and bringing
    up that percentage as we look out to the next midterm?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Chairman Steil, there are three major
    obstacles that can make the absentee voting process more
    difficult sometimes for military members: time, distance, and
    mobility.
        From the time perspective, we encourage all military
    members in January of every year to send in that Federal
    postcard application form so that their local election
    officials are aware of that they are not at home, that they
    need an absentee ballot sent to them.
        Then we also want them to--we encourage them to take
    advantage of the 45-day mailing time. As you know, Federal law
    guarantees that States will send the ballots to the military
    voters at the 45th day before the election. They can receive it
    electronically. In their email inbox they can have that ballot,
    print it out, vote it, and then get it mailed back and take
    full advantage of that.
        Chairman Steil. With our limited time--I appreciate that.
    With our limited time, let me just dive in. I just got the
    number pulled. $2.4 million. That seems like a lot of money,
    but maybe something--I would love a little additional
    information on why it costs that much, but I am going to hold
    that.
        I just want to touch base on how you are coordinating with
    State and local election officials to ensure that ballots are
    reaching the right jurisdiction. How are you coordinating with
    State and local officials?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We work very closely with the State and local
    election officials from across the country, 55 States and
    territories, and the District of Columbia. Right now, we are in
    full swing in preparation for the 2026 election. We have the
    Voting Assistance Guidebook, which contains the voting dates,
    the regulations, rules and deadlines for the voters from every
    jurisdiction.
        We also have the contact information--mail, phone, fax, and
    email--for all those jurisdictions in that book as well as on
    the FVAP.gov website. We ensure that all that information is
    accurate and up to date so that when a voter fills out that
    Federal postcard application form and it is received by the
    election official, it will have everything they need to process
    the form and get the ballot to the voter.
        Chairman Steil. Whose responsibility is it to verify the
    identity of the voter, is that FVAP or is that the State?
        Mr. Wiedmann. That would be the local election office who
    receives the Federal postcard application.
        Chairman Steil. So it is the State's responsibility to
    confirm the identity of the individual?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Correct.
        Chairman Steil. All right. No further questions. I yield
    back.
        I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Morelle, for
    questions.
        Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Thank you again to the witnesses for being here.
        You know, we have advanced a number of ideas that would
    have increased access for military and overseas voters: ample
    notice and cure periods for ballot errors, online voter
    registration in addition to the postcard, improvements to
    UOCAVA. You know, and the President sadly, as I said earlier,
    spreads all this mis- and disinformation about voting abroad
    without any proof.
        I am curious. If a voter makes a mistake on their ballot
    and it does not arrive in time for them to have an opportunity
    to cure a mistake, particularly in those States that allow it,
    how do you work with voters to ensure that they have, one, the
    information necessary to cast a ballot, and that they know of
    the requirements set forth by the various States?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Thank you, Ranking Member Morelle.
        We work closely with States. We have also a hotline that
    voters can call directly if they do get a notice from their
    State, if there is an issue that might arise while that ballot
    request or the ballot is being processed, so that we can call
    the State directly, provide information from the voter to the
    local election official and perhaps they can work that out.
        Of course, timing is of the essence. Again, as I said, we
    encourage folks to start the process as early as possible, take
    full advantage of that 45-day window and not wait right up
    until the day of the election to start the process or to make
    those calls.
        Mr. Morelle. I mentioned earlier that the SAVE Act would
    end a number of things that would affect UOCAVA voters. For
    instance, they would no longer have the ability to mail in the
    postcard to register to vote.
        I assume you have taken a look at the SAVE Act, perhaps
    not, or the President's executive order. How would requirements
    such as that, how would they impact the UOCAVA voter? Have you
    done any analysis? You would not be able to register any longer
    if you are overseas.
        Ms. Clark. Thank you for the question. We are aware of the
    SAVE Act and the proposed legislation as well as the executive
    orders.
        I did want to just clarify too that the Federal postcard
    application form, we do look at updating that every 2 years
    anyway. Right now, though, we understand that the court case is
    under--or the EO is under litigation right now, and we stand
    ready to change the form if then needed.
        I did want to let you know that we do update that form
    every 2 years to see if there are----
        Mr. Morelle. But that form would not be--under the
    executive order, well, and under the SAVE Act, you could not--
    there would be only in-person registration. People could not--
    members of the military or overseas individuals could no longer
    register to vote unless they went to their local office.
        Ms. Clark. Understand, Ranking Member, with the current
    legislation that is being proposed. From a Departmental
    perspective, once that legislation comes back to us, we can go
    through our formal congressional protocols to provide response
    to that.
        Mr. Morelle. Right.
        Ms. Clark. Right now we stand waiting to see what comes
    through and waiting for the court cases to----
        Mr. Morelle. Yes, I know. You will agree with me that that
    would make it--I mean, if you read the plain English reading of
    the statute or the proposed statute, that it would end online
    registration for overseas and military voters?
        Ms. Clark. The Department remains, you know, committed to
    providing a formal congressional response once that legislation
    comes to us.
        Mr. Morelle. I wanted to just take up--and I only have a
    minute or so left of my time, but it is striking to me that
    only 26 percent of military voters who are registered cast a
    ballot. I mean, that is really a small number and one that is
    troubling.
        The fewer than 4 percent of overseas voters who are non
    uniform cast ballots, that is staggering to me. Like, when you
    look at that, you must think, we have got to get this number--I
    am assuming, I hope that that is your desire.
        Can you give me two things that you are working on right
    now that would dramatically increase both numbers?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes. Obviously, it is a voter's choice as to
    whether or not they want to participate in a process and
    whether they want to register and ultimately cast a ballot. We
    do have----
        Mr. Morelle. I get that. But I think you would acknowledge
    that 3 percent or 3.4 percent for overseas voters, there is
    clearly something--I mean, it would be odd for overseas voters
    to choose at a 97 percent rate not to vote versus, you know,
    the number that my friend the chairman cited for people who are
    in the Continental or live in the United States.
        Mr. Wiedmann. We send out 90-, 60-, and 30-day reminder
    notices to all members of the military. That also goes out
    through State Department channels, through the MASCOT messaging
    services, to overseas citizens who have registered with the
    State Department to say that I am overseas living in a
    particular country. Those reminders go out monthly during an
    election year to say, these are the elections, these are the
    States that have primaries coming up.
        Mr. Morelle. I am sorry to interrupt, and I have run out of
    time, but those are things that you currently do, which no
    disrespect, but they are obviously not--I was curious as to
    what things you are thinking about right now that you can do to
    move that needle dramatically in the direction of more greater
    participation.
        Mr. Wiedmann. Again, you know, our purpose is to ensure
    that the voters have the understanding that they are able to
    vote under Federal law for those Federal offices and that they
    have the tools and resources to do so if they wish.
        Mr. Morelle. Not to do anything or facilitate anything that
    would encourage greater participation?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Correct. We are not a get-out-the-vote
    campaign.
        Mr. Morelle. Got you. I will yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentleman yields back.
        Mr. Loudermilk is recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. It is a
    very important subject.
        When I was active duty, I made every effort to vote when I
    knew there was an election going on. It was very easy--well,
    being overseas, there was a lot of help during a Presidential
    election. There is a lot of attention going on. I found it more
    difficult during midterm elections, which in Georgia, that is
    when our gubernatorial election is, and more specifically,
    local, county, and some State elections that may be off cycle,
    and part of it was even knowing that a specific election was
    going on.
        Really for both of you, is there attention made to these
    non-Federal elections to active-duty military?
        Ms. Clark. Thank you for the question.
        If you have not gone to the FVAP.gov website, I highly
    recommend it. It is a wealth of knowledge that is for military
    members, military spouses, as well as overseas citizens. It
    also has links directly to each State and then each
    jurisdiction.
        To your point of increasing that awareness, our goal is to
    make sure that every UOCAVA-eligible voter has access to that
    and is able to link back to their particular State or their
    locality.
        Mr. Wiedmann, can you provide a bit more information on
    exactly what you do?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes. We have a requirement, and the services
    help us to ensure that every member receives a Federal postcard
    application form, either electronically or some sort of notice,
    every January 15th of every year, so that is not just the even-
    numbered years, and then again in July of the even-numbered
    years.
        If the voter sends that form in to that State or local
    election office, they would get whatever ballots would come to
    them during that calendar year.
        Mr. Loudermilk. All right. I appreciate that. I can
    remember during the times that I was in, often our squadron
    commander would send out something advising there is an
    election going on, we encourage you to vote.
        Is that something that you get engagement by commanders,
    unit commanders, to interface at least to let the troops know
    that there is an election going on?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes. Through the military services, there is
    the entire chain of command. There is a Service Voting Action
    Officer for each service that we meet with monthly. Then each
    installation has an Installation Voting Assistance Officer as
    well as a brick-and-mortar Voter Assistance Office, and that is
    typically like in the Military and Family Readiness Center,
    where families can go as well to get assistance as well as the
    members.
        Mr. Loudermilk. OK. Thank you.
        Director Wiedmann, while I have got you, from your
    experience, are ballots of military voters deployed on active-
    duty orders susceptible to voter fraud?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We facilitate the connectivity between that
    voter and that local election official. Then once the election
    official receives that, they are the ones who would review the
    ballot for validity and authenticity.
        Mr. Loudermilk. You are taking it from the servicemember
    and delivering it to the local elections office or the State?
    Is that what you are referring to?
        Mr. Wiedmann. The Military Postal Service Agency, when it
    is dropped off at a military post office on an installation,
    will take that, and they are an extension of the U.S. Postal
    Service. Then they will have that delivered to Chicago. Then
    from there, it goes into the U.S. Postal Service.
        Mr. Loudermilk. OK. What steps does FVAP take to ensure
    election integrity is upheld when assisting servicemembers with
    voter registration?
        Mr. Wiedmann. A person who is assigned as a voting officer
    does that job in a nonpartisan way, just basically there to
    facilitate the process. FVAP provides FVAP.gov and the tools
    and materials. That local voting officer knows that
    installation, knows the circumstance they are in, whether it be
    a submarine or forward deployed, and then will help the voters
    to navigate the process locally.
        Mr. Loudermilk. How would that fit in with the uniqueness
    of certain States and election laws, i.e., in Georgia you have
    to show an ID to be able to register to vote as well as to
    vote?
        Do you take in consideration of the local election laws
    when you are registering votes?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We work with those State and local election
    offices. This book, all the information we provide in here and
    on our website is signed off by the chief State election
    official in every State.
        We work with Blake Evans in the Secretary of State's Office
    for Georgia to ensure that everything is accurate and up to
    date. So when a voter fills this out, it will be accepted by
    the Georgia county, and the Georgia county would then be able
    to send that ballot out to the voter.
        Mr. Loudermilk. OK. Thank you.
        Last question. Are you aware of any credible reporting of
    bad actors committing voter fraud through UOCAVA ballots?
        Mr. Wiedmann. I am not.
        Mr. Loudermilk. OK. Thank you.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentleman yields back.
        Representative Sewell is recognized for 5 minutes for
    questions.
        Ms. Sewell. I want to thank our witnesses for being here
    today.
        As the Ranking Member over the Elections Subcommittee as
    well as author of the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights
    Advancement Act, I think there is nothing more important and
    fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote. Ensuring
    that every eligible voter has an opportunity to cast a ballot I
    think is top and foremost what you all are supposed to do with
    respect to our servicemembers and those living overseas.
        Often I hear from my servicemembers that they do not have
    an opportunity to cure any problem that may happen with the
    ballot because of timing. Then I also get a lot of complaints
    in my office that they do not receive the ballot in time.
        I guess my question to you, Director, is, what are you
    doing to work with the United States Postal Services to make
    sure that people, that servicemembers and overseas citizens get
    their ballots in time?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Thank you, Representative Sewell.
        We work closely with the U.S. Postal Service as well as the
    Military Postal Service Agency to ensure that all of the
    materials that we provide have that postage indicia so it is
    postage-free in U.S. mails. We also provide the ballot template
    envelope for State and local officials, so when they print
    those ballots to be sent out to the voters, those have that
    postage indicia on there as well.
        Ms. Sewell. Yes, I know that the postage is free; just the
    timing of receiving it. I get that, you know, the States
    administer their own elections, but, you know, we administer
    Federal elections and I want to make sure that folks get their
    ballots in a timely fashion.
        I do not know, Dr. Clark, if you have anything else to add
    about what we could be doing now to ensure that people get
    timely ballots. Obviously, if there is a mistake, being able to
    cure that in a timely fashion.
        Ms. Clark. Yes. As Mr. Wiedmann mentioned as well, we have
    the Federal write-in absentee ballot. If there are challenges
    with the State--with a servicemember or UOCAVA-eligible voter
    receiving their ballot, they are able to then submit the
    Federal write-in absentee ballot as well.
        I think it comes down to ensuring that we are promoting
    that awareness and that education and that the military
    services and the installations and the units are also taking
    this seriously and that it is a priority as well.
        We have done a significant amount of work to make sure that
    we are promoting that awareness, making those tools and
    resources available, as well as trying to make it as seamless
    as we possibly can for the UOCAVA-eligible voter.
        When Mr. Wiedmann has talked about this Voting Assistance
    Guide, it has QR codes that takes you directly to that State.
    You know, our goal here is to make sure that we recognize that
    voting is a personal choice.
        Ms. Sewell. It is----
        Ms. Clark. We want to ensure that----
        Ms. Sewell. But, I mean, if you want to ensure that
    eligible voters have an opportunity to vote----
        Ms. Clark. Yes, ma'am.
        Ms. Sewell [continuing]. and I understand the importance of
    informing them that elections are going on. Your role,
    obviously, I understand is not to register voters, but it is to
    ensure that our servicemembers and those who are eligible
    overseas have an opportunity to cast a ballot.
        You know, I think that the FVAP has been, with the changes
    to it that have been proposed in the court system as well as
    through the executive order of the President, I think that the
    Federal postcard can be very complicated, and I know that that
    is tied up in litigation. Until that has been truly litigated,
    we are still practicing under the existing laws. Is that right?
        Ms. Clark. That is correct.
        Mr. Wiedmann, anything to add specifically on that?
        Mr. Wiedmann. No. That is correct. The Federal postcard
    application. Then our process, as I stated, we are ramping up
    for 2026. Part of that process is to review the forms for
    changes----
        Ms. Sewell. Have you received any complaints from
    servicemembers or overseas about the postcard itself?
        Mr. Wiedmann. No.
        Ms. Sewell. Would you be the appropriate person that they
    would lodge those complaints to?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Well, if it is something to do with the
    processing of the form or the layout of the form, they would
    come to us and let us know so that we could incorporate that
    into redesigns, as we do every 2 years. If it is something to
    do with a person's rights being abridged, then they would go to
    the Department of Justice, which is the enforcement body.
        Ms. Sewell. Is the FVAP still committed to leveraging other
    governmental resources to keep all of the eligible
    servicemembers informed of how they can exercise their right to
    vote?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes, ma'am.
        Ms. Sewell. I too, like the Ranking Member, am quite
    concerned that the percentage of voters that are overseas and
    their servicemembers is around 26 percent, whereas in the
    United States, those that vote, it is about 48 percent. Both
    need to go up to more than 50, in my opinion. Is there anything
    that you guys are doing right now that would help in reducing
    that gap?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We look at the--we call it the UOCAVA gap.
    There is going to be some folks that would not want to vote,
    but there is a short or a small number of folks that may have
    wanted to vote but were not able to.
        Those are the folks we try to target with our messaging
    through social media and whatnot to ensure, again, that they
    have that knowledge that they are able to vote and that they
    have a link to FVAP.gov, and that once they get there, click
    the button to say register to vote here. Everything they need
    in order to register to vote in their State is provided to
    them, and then they can send that request directly to their
    county.
        Ms. Sewell. Well, sir, obviously, all of us are committed
    to making sure that folks get the opportunity to cast a vote
    who are eligible. Whatever we can do, I would be interested in
    making sure we can partner with you to make that happen.
        Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the
    record two statements. One from Secure Families Initiative, an
    organization that works on behalf of active-duty military
    families; and a second from U.S. Vote Foundation, an
    organization that works on behalf of all overseas voters on the
    ways UOCAVA works for military and overseas voters.
        Chairman Steil. Without objection.
        [The statements referred to follow:]

        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Ms. Sewell. Thank you, sir. I yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentlewoman yields back.
        The gentleman from North Carolina, Dr. Murphy, is
    recognized for 5 minutes.
        Dr. Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Thank you both for coming here today, and thank you for
    your contributions that are helping our servicemembers and
    those abroad participate in the process of voting.
        I am honored to represent three military installations in
    eastern North Carolina, totaling more than 50,000 active-duty
    servicemembers. We obviously want them to participate in the
    process if they want to participate in the process, so I
    appreciate you guys doing this.
        North Carolina is a popular destination for people moving
    to the U.S. In fact, we are sinking a little bit because so
    many people are moving here, especially on the Outer Banks. You
    know, many North Carolinians also choose to live abroad.
        I appreciate what you guys are doing to help educate
    individuals through UOCAVA for the opportunity to vote. I am
    remiss. I have not gone on your website, but I look forward to
    doing that today because it sounds like there is a great deal
    of information there.
        You know, to what Ranking Member Morelle said about only 3
    percent of individuals voting overseas, that is amazing to me.
    Maybe they are in Bali and they just do not want to be
    bothered. I do not know. 3 percent does seem like a very low
    amount.
        Let me ask you this. You guys, what kind of educational
    materials are you able to provide through UOCAVA to voters who
    are located near the embassy in countries, and then for folks
    that do not live near the embassy in a lot of other countries,
    I wonder if you could educate me on that?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Thank you, Representative Murphy.
        We work very closely with the State Department, and they
    have the American citizen services desk at every embassy and
    consulate. So that if an American needs a new passport or some
    sort of other service for American citizens, they go there to
    get that.
        One of the things they do is provide assistance--voting
    assistance. Anybody behind that glass window, if an American
    citizens walks in, would be able to get the same assistance
    that a voter would get from a voting officer in the military.
        They also post a ballot receptacle closer out to the street
    so that a voter does not necessarily have to go in all the way
    through the security in order to drop off a ballot or to get
    the assistance if they have already printed out the form and
    done that.
        Of course, all of the materials that we print, from the
    guidebook to the forms to the various wallet cards and whatnot,
    are also provided to the State Department so they can--if
    someone gets a new passport, for instance, they will put the
    wallet card that says FVAP.gov in there, and then they will be
    able to have that.
        One key messaging point is that that MASCOT messaging I
    mentioned earlier, which is when you move to a country you sign
    up through the Department of State and say, I am living in this
    country, so that if there is a natural disaster or some other
    reason that they may need to evacuate Americans, they can send
    the messages quickly.
        One of the things they can do with those messaging is send
    out voting messages. They can use it for other things, and
    voting is one of those.
        Dr. Murphy. Yes. It sounds you all are doing a tremendous
    job. I am not quite sure what more you can do. You can lead a
    horse to water, but if people do not want to vote, they do not
    want to vote. If they are overseas, maybe they like living in
    the country that they are in and they identify more with the
    politics there than they do back home. Anyway, thank you.
        Let me ask you a couple other questions. As I mentioned, I
    have a lot of active-duty military that are oftentimes abroad,
    overseas. Can you talk about the FVAP's digital presence and
    how we are able to do that for turnout? How do we reach out to
    those individuals?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes, sir. We have an outreach campaign. We
    take advantage of paid, earned, shared and owned media, both in
    social media and online. We have efforts with the local
    election officials where we have like outreach toolkits that
    are digital, so that any individual that is with an overseas
    citizen organization, a State Department person or a military
    person can download those digital toolkits, and then on their
    own social media accounts----
        Dr. Murphy. Do you think those have--you know, given the
    technology age, what trends have you seen? Do you think those
    make a difference or are we still seeing the same trends in
    participation that we have seen historically?
        Mr. Wiedmann. The participation generally goes along with
    interest in the election. Part of the surveys that we do, we
    ask about what the individual's interest was in the election as
    well as their participation. You can see how it tracks over
    time. When the interest is high, participation is generally
    higher in the election.
        Dr. Murphy. Have those curves been pretty much identical
    over the last decades, interest, interest, interest?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Yes.
        Dr. Murphy. OK. You know, it just stands to reason. You
    know, people who are living abroad, if they have an interest
    back home, they are going to participate in something,
    especially a Presidential election. I can see, just like it
    does in the U.S. midterms, people, often they lose their
    interest. I will end with that.
        Thank you for your service. You are doing a great job. I
    mean, I do not know how else you can get to people other than
    go to their homes and, you know, offer them a ride, which we do
    not need to do. Thank you for your service.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentleman yields back.
        The gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Johnson, is recognized for
    5 minutes.
        Ms. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Thank you both for being here today.
        In April, my colleagues on the Republican side passed the
    SAVE Act, which further restricts married women, naturalized
    citizens, and our military members overseas from exercising
    their ability to vote.
        I want to specifically point out that this bill does not
    include any exemptions for our servicemembers and, instead,
    would require them to register to vote in person in the United
    States, creating a significant administrative and financial
    burden.
        I proposed an amendment to allow folks to register to vote
    by mail, which this country has been doing safely for decades.
    That amendment was voted down by Republicans on this Committee
    and again on the House floor. This is very troubling to me.
        I have some questions about, when our servicemembers enlist
    to serve in the military, are they automatically registered to
    vote?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Thank you, Representative Johnson.
        They are not automatically registered to vote. However,
    they are given the tools and training to know that they have
    the opportunity to vote, you know, once they are enlisted, they
    are on active duty.
        Ms. Johnson. Right.
        Mr. Wiedmann. Then they have those tools and resources.
        Ms. Johnson. If they are not registered to vote at the time
    they are enlisted, then they want to register to vote, under
    the SAVE Act they would be required to physically leave their
    station post abroad and fly to their home residential
    jurisdiction to register to vote. Is that correct?
        Ms. Clark. Thank you for the question.
        With the SAVE Act specifically, the Department will take
    that for the record with a formal response back.
        Ms. Johnson. I understand that. We passed that law so we
    know what the law is, and I understand your not really wanting
    to comment on it. I am trying to ask some questions about the
    practical applicability of that.
        Under that law, though, what hurdles would a servicemember
    have to do to get leave to be able to fly home and register to
    vote in their county if they wanted to exercise their right to
    vote if that bill ultimately succeeds?
        Ms. Clark. We will take that for the record.
        Ms. Johnson. Would they have to take leave to fly home?
        Ms. Clark. We will have to take that for the record.
        Ms. Johnson. I am sorry, what?
        Ms. Clark. We will have to take that for the record.
        Ms. Johnson. You are not going to answer my question?
        Ms. Clark. Due to the breadth and depth of the legislation,
    the Department will take it back and give you our formal
    protocol.
        Ms. Johnson. Well, my question is not taking it back for
    the record. My question is, what steps would a servicemember
    have to do to take a leave of absence to be able to come home
    to register to vote? What is involved in that?
        Ms. Clark. Yes, ma'am. It is outside of my portfolio when
    we are looking at the entitlement to the benefits to the
    specific servicemembers. I will have to take that back for the
    record.
        Ms. Johnson. OK. The--because I am just very troubled by
    that whole situation.
        The next question I have is, how many employees does FVAP
    currently have, and has this changed since January, and has the
    administration's Federal hiring freeze impacted FVAP's ability
    to conduct its mission?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We currently have seven employees, and we are
    able to carry out the requirements under UOCAVA.
        Ms. Johnson. Has your employees been reduced in force since
    January? Has that level changed since that time?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We have had a couple of our employees who
    have taken retirement packages.
        Ms. Johnson. How many employees of your agency took early
    retirement pursuant to the administration's RIF?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Three.
        Ms. Johnson. Three. You have seven. 30 percent of your
    workforce. Is that right?
        Mr. Wiedmann.
        [No verbal response.]
        Ms. Johnson. Do you need any additional resources or
    funding in order to carry out your mission?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Under the current resources and funding, we
    are able to carry out the requirements of the law.
        Ms. Johnson. OK. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to
    enter into the record a statement from Janessa Goldbeck, a
    Marine Corps veteran, former Voting Assistance Officer, and the
    CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, a nonpartisan organization of
    nearly 2 million veterans and military families nationwide.
        Chairman Steil. Without objection.
        [The statement referred to follows:]

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        Ms. Johnson. Thank you. Thank you for your time, and I
    yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentlewoman yields back.
        The gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Carey, is recognized for 5
    minutes.
        Mr. Carey. I want to thank the chairman and thank the
    Ranking Member.
        You know, one of the greatest privileges we have as
    American citizens is the right to determine the direction of
    our country every 2 to 4 years.
        The Great American Experiment, which is closing in on our
    250th birthday, has proved that this right for all Americans,
    regardless of class, religion, race or creed. However, many of
    our citizens who are overseas find it difficult to participate
    in the State and local and Federal elections, particularly
    among our U.S. servicemembers.
        As a veteran myself, I find it critical that we give every
    opportunity for our military members to register for elections.
    That is why the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting
    Act and the Federal Voting Assistance Program are necessary to
    ensure that servicemembers who want to have their vote have the
    ability to actually vote.
        Now I am going to ask you just a couple quick questions. I
    am the last one to ask questions.
        Director and Dr. Clark, what metrics does the Federal
    Voting Assistance Program use to determine if the efforts to
    provide the opportunity for military and overseas voters to
    vote are successful?
        You can both go.
        Mr. Wiedmann. Thank you, Representative Carey.
        We look at the awareness of the program and the awareness
    of folks' ability to utilize the tools and resources available
    to them. We also ask the Voting Assistance Officers how well
    the materials that we provided, both the book itself and the
    online presence, if that was a useful tool for them. We usually
    get, you know, ratings in the 90's of people finding it useful
    as they are delivering voting assistance.
        Mr. Carey. Let me ask you, because you pointed to that book
    a couple of times. I know that we on this Committee are trying
    to make sure that we modernize the way things are done.
        The online presence with the information that is in the
    book is readily available to everybody, correct?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Correct. It is up to date. This book is
    printed every 2 years, because we want to make sure that we
    have something out there for folks who may not have internet
    access who are having a voting assistance or voting
    registration drive. They can refer to the book.
        The online information is updated real time. You know, we
    might have an election office in a particular Ohio county that
    changes their address, and we can get that updated on the
    website.
        Mr. Carey. Has FVAP increased its outreach and education to
    the U.S. servicemembers overseas, in your opinion?
        Mr. Wiedmann. We continually seek out new ways to reach out
    to folks that would fit and target folks directly, especially
    that 18-to 24-year-old cohort.
        Mr. Carey. OK. Let me ask the director and doctor. How many
    early prior to an election are the UOCAVA ballots sent to
    servicemembers? How many are usually sent out? Do you have any
    idea?
        Mr. Wiedmann. In the 2022 election, I believe there were
    754,000, yes, sent out. In the 2020 election, 1.2 million
    ballots were sent out to military and overseas voters.
        Mr. Carey. What is usually the timeframe that the
    servicemembers would get those ballots?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Depending on--so when they use the form, they
    say if they want the ballot to be delivered to them by mail or
    email or if a State has an online server that they can download
    it from. That is the voter's choice on how they want to receive
    that.
        The States have to provide the ballots 45 days before an
    election for Federal office. They will put it either in the
    mail or they will put them online and send an email to the
    voter saying, ``hey, your ballot is now available,'' and then
    they have that at that point.
        Mr. Carey. Historically, do you think this is enough time
    for a servicemember to receive and then cast their ballot to be
    counted in time on election day?
        Mr. Wiedmann. Based on the Military Postal Service Agency's
    recommended mailing dates, 30 days is the maximum time for
    folks aboard ship and deployed overseas. The 45 days should
    suffice.
        Mr. Carey. OK. Well, I want to thank you both for being
    here today.
        I want to again thank the chairman and the Ranking Member.
    With that, I yield back.
        Chairman Steil. The gentleman yields back.
        We thank both of our witnesses for being here today on a
    really important topic. I appreciate your work in the area. I
    think there is also room for improvement as we work to get more
    members to participate in the election process.
        Members of the Committee may have some additional
    questions. We ask you to please respond to those questions in
    writing.
        Without objection, each Member will have 5 legislative days
    to insert additional material into the record or to advise and
    extend their remarks.
        If there is no further business, I thank the Members for
    their participation. Without objection, the Committee stands
    adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:27 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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