COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- As Americans, we are fortunate to have many rights. Many of our rights didn’t come easy, thus they must be protected. One of these rights is the right to vote, and as a uniformed service member, you not only enjoy this right, but you protect it… for yourself and all Americans. This year’s National General Election will be held on 8 November 2022.
The vast majority of service members physically live away from their state of voter registration, and therefore vote by absentee ballot. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to register and request your absentee ballot by now. Since service members tend to move frequently, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) recommends service members register with their state of legal residency annually and every time they have an address change to ensure they receive their absentee ballot.
If you have received your absentee ballot but have not completed and returned it, please do so now. You are welcome to drop your completed ballot off at the Installation Voter Assistance Office (IVAO) located in the Military and Family Readiness Center, Building 1114, and an assigned voting assistance officer will gladly mail it for you.
If you have not received your absentee ballot, you should complete and return the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) immediately. You are welcome to drop the completed FWAB off at the IVAO, and we’ll mail it for you.
The IVAO is open Monday through Friday, 0730-1630, and is closed for national holidays and command family days. We’re here to help you register to vote, request an absentee ballot and notify your election officials of a change of address. We will gladly assist you with your voting needs. Contact us at DSN 742-2701, Commercial (662) 434-2701 or E-mail vote.columbus@us.af.mil . Additionally, if your unit has 25 or more permanent party military members assigned, you have at least one appointed Unit Voting Assistance Officer (UVAO) to assist you. To find out who your UVAO is, check out our voting resources on Columbus AFB Living to include a complete list of 14 FTW voting assistance officers at https://www.columbusafbliving.com/airmen-family-readiness-center/voting-assistance/ .
The IVAO and UVAOs from across the installation will be manning a voting assistance/information booth in the BX Mini-mall 3-7 Oct 2022, 1000-1400. Please stop by if you need help or have any questions.
In the event you are unable to contact your UVAO or the IVAO, 24-hour voting assistance is available from the Air Force Total Force Service Center at: DSN 665-0102, Commercial (210) 565-0102 or Toll Free 1-800-525-0102. You may access many voting-related questions and answers on the FVAP website at http://www.fvap.gov .