NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate unanimously passed an amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and cosponsored by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Fla.) to help ensure the effective and efficient delivery of absentee ballots for members of the military who are stationed around the world.

The amendment, which was included in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a part of the manager’s package, calls on the Department of Defense (DOD) to partner with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to modernize the delivery of mail to overseas deployed military personnel. The goal of the amendment is to help correct problems with the delivery of absentee ballots through the establishment of a centralized mail forwarding system to ensure that blank ballots are properly redirected.

“I am pleased that Congress has taken action to ensure that the absentee ballots of our men and women in uniform are shipped efficiently and handled with respect,” said Rubio. “It is imperative that those who defend us around the world have an efficient and dependable means of casting their ballots in local, state and national elections. I am confident that the establishment of a centralized mail forwarding system will allow us to properly direct absentee ballots so that they are received with ample time to be completed before an election.”

“Our servicemen and women sacrifice every day to protect our freedom, and they deserve the basic assurance that their votes will count no matter where they are stationed,” said Blunt. “I’m pleased the Senate included my amendment as part of this bill so we can work to ensure that our men and women in uniform receive their absentee ballots in time to vote.”