Roscoe Bartlett: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5174 clarifies the authority of the Secretary of the Defense to use DOD facilities as polling places…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5174 clarifies the authority of the Secretary of the Defense to use DOD facilities as polling places in Federal, State and local elections for public office. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5174 brings a common sense approach to the issue of voting on military installations. There is no retrenchment from the prohibition against using military forces to influence voters. The Congress will remain vigilant against any potential that military forces could be used to intimidate voters. However, we must guard against the over reaction that voting must never be allowed on military facilities regardless of the benign circumstances in the absence of a threat of coercion by military forces. The simple fact is that in some remote and rural locations in our Nation, military facilities are important community resources that have been used for polling for a number of years. The members of the local community that have used DOD facilities for voting are not threatened by the military forces that live and work in their communities. It is important to note that this language does not require military commanders to open their facilities for voting. The bill only makes explicit that polling on military facilities is not illegal.”