Ross Leads NC Democrats in Introducing Legislation to Reaffirm that Military Votes Should Count in All Elections

Today, Congresswomen Deborah Ross (NC-02), Alma Adams (NC-12), and Valerie Foushee (NC-04) introduced a resolution reaffirming the long-held right of U.S. military personnel to participate in our elections even while bravely serving our country far from home. This follows a North Carolina Supreme Court decision on Friday which could result in more than 5,000 legal votes cast by members of our Armed Forces serving abroad as well as other overseas U.S. citizens being thrown out.

The case concerns the outcome of our state's contested Supreme Court race and may determine whether North Carolina Republicans are successful in overturning the will of our state's voters by installing conservative judge Jefferson Griffin on the panel. On Friday, justices ruled 4-2 that more than 5,000 military and overseas voters must prove their identity within 30 days or risk having their ballots invalidated. Justice Allison Riggs, who prevailed in November by 734 votes, is appealing the decision in federal court.

"It's one thing to be a sore loser," said Congresswoman Ross. "It's something else entirely to seek to disenfranchise Americans who are bravely serving our country in uniform. The politics and ambition of a single candidate have led our state to this embarrassing new low. We introduced this resolution so that Congress can send an unequivocal message: every vote lawfully cast by members of the US military should count, no matter where they are stationed and no matter who is on the ballot. We cannot allow an American election to be stolen by invalidating the votes of American heroes."

The resolution introduced by Ross, Adams, and Foushee reaffirms that the votes of uniformed service members and overseas citizens, submitted in compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), must be fully counted and honored in all federal, state, and local elections and that election authorities must uphold their obligations under UOCAVA by ensuring that no legally submitted absentee ballot is rejected without due process or in violation of Federal law.

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