Special Message to the Congress on Absentee Voting by Members of the Armed forces.

To the Congress of the United States:

About 2,500,000 men and women in the armed forces are of voting age at the present time. Many of those in uniform are serving overseas, or in parts of the country distant from their homes. They are unable to return to their States either to register or to vote. Yet these men and women, who are serving their country and in many cases risking their lives, deserve above all others to exercise the right to vote in this election year. At a time when these young people are defending our country and its free institutions, the least we at home can do is to make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to fight to preserve.

All of us agree that the men and women in our armed services ought to be able to exercise the right to vote. Yet there are many barriers in the way.

Traditionally, procedures for voting have been laid down by the States, not only in State elections but also in elections to federal office. There are many variations among State laws on voting. In some States, absentee voting is either impossible or is encumbered with such difficult procedural requirements that it is of little value to persons in military service. The resulting patch-work quilt of complicated-and conflicting regulations has, in the past, deprived many of our service people of the chance to vote.

Efforts were made during World War II to improve and standardize procedures. Many State laws were passed to facilitate voting by persons in the services, and the Congress intervened to confirm the right of service people to vote in Federal elections, to provide simpler procedures for obtaining ballots for persons overseas, and, in some cases, to provide a Federal ballot to be used when State ballots could not be used.

As a result, over 2½ million of the 9 million persons of voting age in the armed forces voted in 1944. The record was not good, but it was better than it is likely to be this year, unless prompt action is taken. In many States, the laws which facilitated voting in 1944 have now expired. Since 1942, Federal Statutes have affirmed the right of absent service people to vote without registering in person, but even this basic right may be ignored in some States this year unless vigorous action is taken.

Recognizing that the situation required careful examination, I requested the American Political Science Association on October 23, 1951, to make a special study of voting in the armed forces, reviewing the history of Federal and State laws and procedures on the subject, "to be sure that we have a completely effective program for voting in the armed services." The American Political Science Association set up a Special Committee on Service Voting, composed of qualified experts, which conducted a comprehensive inquiry. The results of their study and their recommendations are embodied in their report to me, which I am transmitting, with this message, to the Congress.

In this report, the Special Committee of the American Political Science Association has set forth a Servicemen's Bill of Voting Rights, which I believe is so sound and right that it deserves the support of the Congress and the country:

"We believe that all servicemen of voting age, whether in the United States or overseas, should have the right:

"1. To vote without registering in person.

"2. To vote without paying a poll tax.

"3. To vote without meeting unreasonable residence requirements.

"4. To vote without meeting unreasonable literacy and educational requirements.

"5. To use the Federal postcard application for a ballot.

"6. To receive ballots for primary and general elections in time to vote.

"7. To be protected in the free exercise of their voting rights.

"8. To receive essential information concerning candidates and issues.

"9. To receive essential information concerning the methods by which the right to vote may be exercised.

"10. To receive essential information on the duty of 'citizens in uniform' to defend our democratic institutions by using, rather than ignoring, their voting rights."

In contrast to these standards, there are twenty-four of our States--exactly half--in which many of our soldiers, sailors and airmen will be unable to vote effectively and easily in 1952. Seven of these States appear to have laws that are in conflict with the provisions of the Servicemen's Voting Act of 1946. These States either make no provision at all for absentee voting, or require registration by servicemen in person. In addition, there are seventeen States in which the statutory interval permitted between the sending out of the absentee ballots and the time when the ballots must be returned is so short that it will deprive service people overseas of a decent chance to get their ballots back on time.

The report I am transmitting to the Congress recommends ways of overcoming these defects, either through special action by State legislatures, or through more efficient and flexible administration of State laws, or through court action. It also recommends that the States take action to permit voting by spouses and dependents of persons serving in the armed forces, and by other civilians serving overseas. I hope all State officials concerned will take these recommendations to heart, and do all they can to improve the situation in their respective States. The best and most effective way to assure our service people of their right to vote is through State action.

Some of the recommendations of the report are directed at the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, and are designed particularly to strengthen the administration of soldier voting in the Department of Defense. I am sending the report to the Secretary of Defense, requesting him to consider these recommendations, to act on them where possible, and to report progress to me. The Department of Defense has the important duty, not only to facilitate voting, but also to see to it that the information that service voters receive is presented in a completely fair and non-partisan manner.

The members of the Congress will be particularly interested in the recommendations made for Federal legislation. The Committee recommends a long-range program which will encourage service voting, provide adequate voting information to service people, and require regular reports to the Congress on the manner and extent of soldier voting.

As a first step, the Committee recommends that the Congress continue in effect existing statutory provisions affirming the right of service people to vote. These provisions, which are contained in the first two sections of the Servicemen's Voting Act of 1946, are, by their terms, effective only "in time of war", and will therefore lapse when the Peace Treaty with Japan comes into effect. I have already called this problem to the attention of the Congress in my communication to the Vice President and the Speaker of the House concerning the proposed Emergency Powers Extension Act.

In addition, the Committee recommends that the Secretary of Defense report biennially to the Congress, commencing in January, 1953, on action taken by the respective States in carrying out the Servicemen's Voting Act. The Committee further recommends that the Secretary of Defense, in cooperation with the Bureau of the Census and the several States, be required to compile and publish statistical reports on the number of applications and executed ballots received from servicemen in each State, as well as the number of servicemen of voting age in each State. Such information will serve as a basis for improving existing laws and procedures in the light of experience. In order to acquaint servicemen with their voting privileges and responsibilities, the Committee recommends legislative support for an effective information and education program designed to bring to absent servicemen some of the voting information available to all citizens in their own communities.

With one dissent, the report of the Committee recommends the use of a Federal ballot this year in those cases where State laws are not sufficiently improved in time to give soldiers from those States the right to vote. There are administrative and legal difficulties in the use of a Federal ballot, and our experience with it under the cumbersome procedures set up by the Federal law of 1944 was not encouraging, but the findings of the Committee point out ways of avoiding some of the difficulties experienced in that year.

I agree with the Committee that, in spite of the obvious difficulties in the use of the Federal ballot, the Congress should not shrink from accepting its responsibility and exercising its constitutional powers to give soldiers the right to vote where the States fail to do so. Of course, if prompt action is taken by the States, as it should be, it may be possible to avoid the use of a Federal ballot altogether. I believe, however, that the Congress should consider this matter with great care, and provide emergency legislation which will overcome the obstacles to soldier voting that may still exist in State laws as the elections draw near. Any such legislation by Congress should be temporary, since it should be possible to make all the necessary changes in State laws before the Congressional elections of 1954.

Our experience during and after World War II conclusively demonstrates that unless early action is taken, hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women of voting age will be deprived of their constitutional right to vote this year. I am confident that all Members of Congress and all State officials will join me in the determination that those who are on the front line in the defense of our freedom shall have a chance to exercise one of the great rights associated with that freedom.

HARRY S. TRUMAN