The reports are the latest to cast doubt on the election between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. AFP has previously debunked numerous claims of crimes affecting early voting, including fraud among overseas voters.
A lot of target swing states like Pennsylvania, which sent an estimated 25,000 ballots to overseas civilian and military voters in 2024. federal The judge there dismissed a Republican Party lawsuit in late October after courts in the battleground states of Michigan and North Carolina filed similar complaints alleging officials failed to verify U.S. citizenship (archived here).
The latest online claims misrepresent the Defense Department’s role in the voting process.
A A Defense Ministry spokesperson told AFP in a Nov. 5 email that “the claim is false,” referring to comments made by press secretary Major Pat. Ryder during a Nov. 4 briefing (archived here).
“We continue to recommend that all voters register and request an absentee ballot. Those deadlines vary depending on the state,” Ryder said.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), in effect since 1986, requires states and territories to allow absentee voting for military personnel and other overseas citizens. The law requires states – not the Pentagon — to mail ballots at least 45 days before a federal vote election (archived here).
Each jurisdiction administers this process separately, meaning voting will vary depending on local races.
Ryder referred during the briefing to the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which helps provide information to both military personnel and civilians abroad voters (archived here).
“We have a robust education program to spread the word about how service members and their families can obtain their absentee ballots wherever you are, whether overseas or stationed outside your state,” he said.
Ryder added that “if a service member has requested a ballot and it has not arrived, he or she can immediately use the federal registration ballot at FVAP.gov/FWAB, and this will act as a backup ballot.”
The website directs users to a map where they can select their state and county from drop-down menus to request a ballot.
More AFP reporting on 2024 election disinformation is available here.
