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Pete Hegseth urges troops to register to vote
Hegseth said 2.1 million service members and their families could help decide close races, citing 300,000 unregistered troops in 2024.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged U.S. service members to register and vote in midterm elections, emphasizing that personnel can use standardized federal postcards to request mail-in ballots regardless of duty location.
Hegseth's support for broad absentee access contrasts sharply with President Donald Trump's repeated characterization of mail-in voting as 'inherently corrupt' and 'cheating,' despite the administration's failed efforts to impose nationwide ballot restrictions.
Hegseth cited an analysis claiming 300,000 'warriors' failed to register in 2024, while about 67 percent of active-duty troops were registered that year; he directed commanders to 'get out the vote' for all service members.
The Supreme Court blocked the administration's attempt to overhaul mail-in procedures, preventing new requirements for standardized envelopes and online voter portals that advocates warned 'threatened mass confusion and chaos' for overseas voters.
These directives to America's 2.1 million service members arrive as Republicans face challenging odds ahead of the midterms, highlighting tensions between Hegseth's voting encouragement and the administration's broader efforts to restrict mail-in access.