On Monday, former President Donald Trump used the propaganda-laden platform Truth Social to post more of his typical vitriol. In this latest attack, he accused military members of using the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to illegally vote in the upcoming elections. Once I’d recovered from my shock regarding his utter ignorance of what the program actually is (and then my secondary surprise that he can still manage to leave me agape after a decade of his bloviating), I was consumed with fury.
He’s come for me and people I love before, disrespecting women, gold star families and people with special needs, but this one hit me hard. As a proud military spouse for more than a decade — and a political science major before that — I found his attempt to discredit legitimate votes from military members particularly vile.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
In his statement he said, “The Democrats are talking about how they’re working so hard to get millions of votes from Americans living overseas. Actually, they’re getting ready to CHEAT! They are going to use UOCAVA to get ballots, a program that emails ballots overseas without any citizenship check or verification of identity, whatsoever. (Foreign interference?) [...] They want to dilute the TRUE vote of our beautiful military and their families [...] Remember, IF YOU VOTE ILLEGALLY, YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL”
Let’s break down everything that’s wrong with that statement. The UOCAVA isn’t a free-for-all in which anyone can request to vote by unsecured email. It is, in fact, a program created by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 as part of the Federal Voting Assistance (FVAP) initiative. The FVAP’s goals are to “inform and educate U.S. citizens worldwide of their right to vote; facilitate voting participation; and protect the integrity of, and simultaneously enhance, the electoral process.” The UOCAVA in particular is the system that streamlines the process for military members and their families to vote while stationed abroad.
Before UOCAVA, the process was complicated and confusing, resulting in many military members (and their spouses) finding it too difficult to vote. And let’s not forget why they might be unable to vote at home: they are serving their country in times of conflict or on military bases that protect our national security or are acting in a diplomatic capacity. They all are making countless sacrifices to do so. If anyone’s lives are directly affected by the results of an election to determine a new commander in chief, it’s theirs; they deserve to have a say.
As for his unfounded claim that these email ballots don’t require any proof of identity, let’s all scoff in unison. Anyone who has ever even existed parallel to the military world knows about the detailed, sometimes infuriating bureaucracy that is employed at every turn for a person to access any military services. My husband can’t even pick up my medication from the pharmacy on base without three forms of identification, my written permission and the promise to hand over my firstborn child should he be making false claims. (I’m joking, but come on.) Do you really think the U.S. military would be knowingly facilitating fraudulent votes, especially in a time when an entire branch was created (by Trump, no less) to ensure our national cybersecurity?
So what are Trump’s motives? To delegitimize anyone who might vote for his opponent, to lay the groundwork for claiming that the election was rigged should it not go his way, and to spread rumors and falsehoods to intimidate prospective voters. (And that’s assuming he doesn’t actually believe the baloney he’s regurgitating to his followers. If he does, I’m not sure which is worse.)
I’m appalled by a potential commander in chief who is implying that voting by absentee ballot — the only option available for many military service people and their spouses — is somehow tainted or un-American.
Please, don’t let misinformation like what he spewed so carelessly continue to get spread. Go vote. It’s your right, however you are able to do so. Our democracy depends on it. Our future does, too.
Caitlin Manner is a writer, a military spouse and the daughter-in-law of a major general.
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