09/10/2009 - This week, the Pew Center on the States announced that Rear Admiral James J. Carey (Ret., U.S. Navy) is joining Pew as a policy advisor for its election initiatives to improve the voting process for military and overseas voters and advocate for a more accurate, convenient, efficient and secure election system.
Carey will assist with Pew’s efforts to raise the profile of military and overseas voting challenges and enact key election reforms in Congress and the states to ensure these voters have adequate time to vote and have their votes count.
As a Navy veteran and retired flag officer, Carey has advocated for improvements in military voting for more than 30 years.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to partner with Pew to advance common sense, fact-based solutions to problems in the voting process that have plagued military and overseas voters for far too long,” said Carey.
Carey served as a commissioner and vice chairman of the U. S. Federal Maritime Commission under President Ronald Reagan (R) and as chairman/CEO under President George H. W. Bush (R).
In 2002, Admiral Carey established and currently serves as the national chairman of the National Defense Committee (NDC), a grassroots membership organization of war veterans that addresses policy issues, including military voting rights that impact national defense, intelligence, homeland security and veterans.
In January, the Pew Center on the States issued the report, “No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America’s Overseas Military Voters,” the first-ever detailed public analysis of states’ voting systems for service members living abroad.
The report found that 25 states and the District of Columbia do not provide sufficient time for overseas military service members to vote. Based on the research, Pew proposed common sense solutions to remove obstacles to the voting process for these individuals.
Admiral Carey will advocate for Pew’s key recommendations for military and overseas voters in Congress and the states:
• Sending ballots earlier and faster;
• Building more time into the voting process;
• Increasing awareness and expand use of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot;
• Using technology to streamline the absentee voting process and better inform voters; and
• Modernizing the voter registration system.
“We are pleased to work alongside Admiral Carey who has championed military and overseas voting issues for years,” said Doug Chapin, director of election initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. “His expertise and passion will be a tremendous asset to our efforts.”
