Secretary Steen visits Goodfellow

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joshua Edwards
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  More active duty service members call Texas home than any other state in the U.S., making it important for these service members to fill out their absentee ballots.

This is one reason John Steen, Texas Secretary of the State, visited Goodfellow Aug. 30 for the "Boots and Ballots" program.

"Boots and Ballots" is an education tour that helps voting assistance officers learn more about resources available to them so they can help absentee voters.

Steen and Keith Ingram, Texas Director of Elections, educated wing leadership and voting assistance officers on the difficulty of absentee voting.

"It can sometimes be a challenge for military men and women to vote," said Steen. "We are trying to provide information and resources to make it as easy as possible."

Steen also talked about the two biggest obstacles service members face while voting.

"When you talk to election administrators, two of the things they talk about is: military votes where the service man or woman aren't registered to vote, the vote can't be counted," he said. "The other issue is a ballot sent from overseas requires the outside of the envelope be signed. Without that signature that ballot cannot be counted."

During the visit, Ingram spoke to the voting assistance officers on the different types of ballots, how voting assistance officers can help voters and why absentee votes are important.

"A lot of people say 'What difference does it make if it's going to be after the election, the election is already decided at that point,'" said Ingram. "The ones you see on election night are unofficial vote totals. Every single vote that comes in between Election Day and the fifth day after Election Day from overseas will be counted. For some races, in some counties, that can be the difference maker."

Before coming to Goodfellow, Steen and Ingram visited seven other bases for the "Boots and Ballots" campaign. They plan to visit five more in the next couple months.