Let Our Veterans Vote !

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) refuses to allow non-partisan voter registration at VA hospitals and nursing homes for our wounded, injured, ill, and disabled veterans.  VCS believes VA is wrong, and the policy must change immediately.  Pick up the phone today and urge your Senators and Representatives to pass S 3308 and restore our veterans' voting rights.  VCS asks you to please remember to register to vote today.  Then please be sure to vote on November 4, 2008.  Service members overseas should know that they should be requesting their absentee ballots now so they meet voting deadlines. Please honor our fellow Americans who stood between an enemy bullet and our beloved Constitution by registering and voting.

Veterans for Common Sense Letter to Senator Diane Feinstein endorsing S 3308, "The Veteran Voting Support Act."

July 28, 2008

The Honorable Diane Feinstein
United States Senator
331 Senate Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Feinstein:

Veterans for Common Sense strongly endorses your superb new legislation designed to restore veteran voting rights, S 3308, “The Veteran Voting Support Act,” already co-sponsored by a distinguished list of U.S. Senators, including Barack Obama, Charles Schumer, John Kerry, Patty Murray, Harry Reid, Patrick Leahy, and Ron Wyden.

Your legislation is critical because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is blocking voting rights for veterans in VA hospitals and VA nursing homes as well as among homeless veterans who are provided VA assistance.  VA is fighting against allowing our veterans to have access to voter registration and voter assistance.  We appreciate how you first tried to work with VA to resolve this crisis without legislation.  Unfortunately, VA rejected your reasonable suggestions to lift their ban.

Your bill is timely because the deadlines for voter registration are quickly approaching and because there are less than 100 days before we vote on November 4.  Our simple goal as a non-partisan non-profit is clear: Let our veterans vote.  We hope to improve voter turnout among our hundreds of thousands of hospitalized and homeless veterans.

Thank you for working hard to make sure that our fellow citizens who stood between enemy bullets and our Constitution have full and equal access to voter registration and voting on Election Day.  Our veterans earned no less.   Veterans for Common Sense will be asking our members to contact their elected officials soon so that your important legislation becomes law within a few weeks.

Sincerely,

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director