• Six states provide enough time to vote only if military personnel overseas return their completed absentee ballots by fax or e-mail -- a requirement that raises concerns about access to technology and the privacy and security of their votes. These states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Rhode Island.

"We cannot allow the men and women who defend our country to be denied the ability to exercise this basic democratic right," said Doug Chapin, Director of Make Voting Work. "While individual states have adopted a wide range of improvements, the lack of consistency across their absentee voting processes presents one of the greatest challenges to military and overseas citizens attempting to navigate the system. Fortunately, there are a number of common sense fixes that can get us closer to ensuring that all U.S. citizens have the opportunity to successfully exercise their right to vote."

Pew researchers studied whether four policy options would help the 25 states and District of Columbia that need to improve the voting process for military overseas voters:

• Expanding the use of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, a back-up measure for military voters who do not receive their state ballots in time;
• Allowing election materials to be transmitted electronically;
• Ensuring a minimum of 45 days to allow ballots to travel between voters and election offices; and,
• Eliminating a requirement that military voters have their completed ballots notarized before returning them.

The analysis found that all four options can bring about improvements, although not every reform is right for every state. All states could ensure time to vote by adopting a fully electronic process for transmitting all election materials between voters and election offices. Important questions have been raised about the privacy and security of returning completed ballots by fax or e-mail -- but many overseas military voters would benefit significantly if states simply sent out blank ballots electronically instead of by traditional mail. Every state could also ensure time to vote by expanding the use of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, although this tool is only a back-up measure.

Additionally, Pew is working with the Uniform Law Commission to promote the use of a uniform law for all voters covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Pew's goal is to have such a law adopted by states in time for the 2012 federal election.

Courtesy of Pew Charitable Trusts.

No Time to Vote is supplemented by individual fact sheets for the 26 jurisdictions that need to improve their voting process for overseas military voters. The fact sheets are available on the Pew Center on the States Web site at www.pewcenteronthestates.org.

Make Voting Work, a project of the Pew Center on the States, examines the most pressing election problems, and undertakes and evaluates pilot projects and experiments designed to address them. This research will inform our efforts to identify effective solutions through changes in policies, practices and technology. Further information is available at www.pewcenteronthestates.org.