VA policy that bans voter drives is flawed and must be fixed
Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed has asked members of the state's congressional delegation to review the policy
By the Union-Bulletin Editorial Board
Secretary of State Sam Reed is passionate about elections. Since taking office in 2000, he has devoted himself to improving the way Washingtonians vote.
In the wake of the problems with the 2004 gubernatorial election, Reed championed a host of reforms -- including putting in place a new statewide voter registration system that prevents opportunity for fraud. Under t he laws proposed by Reed, his office can now thoroughly review each county's elections procedures and correct problems.
But Reed's concern for elections -- and voters -- goes far beyond those that garner a lot of attention.
Reed has now directed his passion to ensure that veterans living in federally funded nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, medical centers and homeless shelters have the opportunity to register to vote.
A May 5 directive from the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits voter registration drives at the federal facilities.
That's outrageous. Those who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms should be free to decide if they want to register to vote.
Yet, VA officials are denying them that choice because paper-pushers within the department have determined that registering voters could be seen as a breach of political neutrality and therefore would violate the Hatch Act, which puts l! imits o n federal employees' involvement in political campaigns.
The reasoning is far from reasonable. It makes no sense.
The Hatch Act was adopted to prevent government officials, particularly those who are political appointees, from putting the squeeze on employees for campaign donations and support. It's a good law.
The Hatch Act clearly does not apply in this case. A voter registration drive is politically neutral. People are not being pressured on how they should vote, they are simply being asked if they want the opportunity to vote.
Reed sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation a sking for a review of the VA's inane policy.
"There has been a long history of public agencies conducting voter registration in ! a neutr al way." Reed said. "I strongly disagree with the reasons for this ban, and I hope our state's delegation will join others in Congress to persuade the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to correct this misguided policy."
The sooner the better. The state's primary is next month. Veterans living in federal facilities should be given the opportunity to cast ballots at that election and every election.