Media Center

The attack on the U.S. Capitol and brazen assault on our democracy on Jan. 6 was a shocking wake-up call for America. As veterans and civilians who have served at the highest levels of defending our nation, it was outright heartbreaking to learn of the numbers of veterans who were involved. It is no secret extremists have targeted members of the military for recruitment, exploiting the experience and legitimacy they bring. While we are concerned about any veteran involvement in the riot, the unlawful and disloyal acts of a few will not define us.

A nonpartisan organization has launched an awareness campaign it hopes sparks more veterans to join in efforts to keep the democratic voting process safe. Count Every Hero recently rolled out Operation Protect Democracy during a virtual press conference to increase veteran activity in voting and maintain American’s confidence in the electoral process. “We honestly felt the American people would look to us as former senior leaders in the military, both civilian and uniform, to make sure that we’re sending the right message,” said retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni.

The breach of the U.S. Capitol in January and subsequent efforts by states across the U.S. to restrict voting access has spurred a group of retired senior military officials to launch their own counteroffensive: Operation Protect Democracy. The group formed last year to protect mail-in military ballots and ensure they were included in the presidential election, under the name “Count Every Hero.” After the attack on the Capitol, they realized there was more to be done, said Anthony Zinni, former head of U.S. Central Command. The group will now focus on restoring confidence in the voting system and work to increase civic engagement and voter access. It is also targeting political corruption and misinformation campaigns.

A new awareness campaign is hoping to draw in more veterans who want to be involved in safeguarding the democratic voting process. Count Every Hero, a nonpartisan organization formed in 2020 to ensure service members and their families could participate in U.S. elections through the absentee ballots, launched “Operation Protect Democracy” on Thursday. It is a campaign that encourages veterans and everyday citizens to engage in restoring confidence in the electoral process — especially following the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol.

A group of high-profile veterans and defense leaders who last fall lobbied for military voters’ access to the polls is now shifting their campaign to ensuring free and fair elections for all Americans. Operation Protect Democracy, which grew out of the Count Every Hero Campaign founded last year, is calling for veterans to take a key role in election reform across the country and ensuring that all eligible voters have access to ballots in federal, state, and local elections. Organizers said they were inspired to shift the message in part because of widespread misinformation about the 2020 presidential election results, and the attempted insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Another indicator of increased UOCAVA absentee voters this year is the use of the Label-11 DoD. According to the U.S. Postal Service, as of the 2020 Election Day, 58,297 of these Label-11 DoD ballots had been tracked coming into the U.S., a 14 percent increase compared to the 51,085 tracked as of Election Day in 2016. Before the election, the Count Every Hero organization cautioned news organizations, candidates and election officials about declaring winners before every military vote is counted.

In other battleground states, ballots can still arrive for a few more days from military and overseas citizens: North Carolina accepts ballots from these voters through Nov. 12. Pennsylvania and Nevada accept them through Nov. 10. The organization Count Every Hero, which is part of the Military Vote Coalition, has been urging restraint in declaring winners until all military votes are counted. The coalition has been emphasizing the importance of every military vote, and that is being demonstrated in this election.

In the 2016 presidential election, Georgia received more than 5,600 ballots from uniformed service members; North Carolina received nearly 11,000; Pennsylvania nearly 7,800 and Nevada about 2,700, according to the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission. In the razor-thin election in Georgia, the secretary of state’s office said as many as 8,900 ballots requested by military service members and U.S. citizens abroad — in addition to thousands that had already been received and tallied ahead of Friday’s deadline.

During a Nov. 5 press call hosted by Count Every Hero, a “cross-partisan” effort dedicated to making sure all U.S. troops’ ballots that have been submitted properly and on-time are counted before the results of the 2020 election results are officially called, former Air Force Secretary and initiative co-chair Deborah Lee James urged the nation to give those votes a chance to be counted. “If you look at the different rules of the states … Nov. 12 is when the final tallies will occur and the final of those battleground states,” she said. “One week of patience is all we need to show to let the process play out.”

“I don’t think that one would see a significant movement, even with it as close as it is in Georgia,” said Scott Cooper, a spokesman for Count Every Hero, a nonpartisan effort to ensure that military ballots are counted. But Cooper, a retired Marine Corps officer and past Democratic candidate for Congress, said every ballot should be counted and suggested that there are lessons that can be taken from what happened in Georgia. Despite being home to large military installations, the state has among the strictest laws in the nation for returning military ballots, leaving the voice of many service members who vote unheard each election, he said.

“We’re not asking for any special privilege here,” retired Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told CNN. “We’re just saying we think it’s important for every ballot to be counted and especially those of the service men and women who serve this country. They do so much for us and they deserve to know their voices are heard.” Casey voted absentee from Iraq in the 2004 presidential election and recalls voting absentee multiple times while stationed away from Virginia, his home state of record. He is now one of many retired military leaders lending their voices to Count Every Hero, a bipartisan initiative to make sure military votes are tallied.

“Razor thin margins in the five remaining battleground states mean overseas ballots from military members and their families could be the deciding votes at the end of the count,” said Research Manager Jack Noland of Count Every Hero, a non-partisan group that promotes policies that increase awareness and voting accessibility for veterans and military families. “Any attempts to stop vote counts, or disqualify mail-in ballots, will disproportionately affect military voters. Every vote must be counted to protect the military and gain the trust of all Americans, regardless of their preferred presidential candidate.”

On Thursday, retired senior military leaders and defense officials said the current election demonstrates the need for election law reform to give military members more time to return their ballots and have them counted. Troops overseas “don’t always have the ability to get their ballots and get them back in time,” said former Army Secretary Louis Caldera, a member of the bipartisan Count Every Hero organization.

Most military personnel far from home mail an absentee ballot, and those coming from overseas take, on average, about six days, according to a report from Count Every Hero, a nonpartisan group committed to ensuring service member’s right to vote is protected. The group says 28 states and the District of Columbia accept and count ballots that arrive from overseas after election day. They include Georgia, which accepts them up to three days after the election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. North Carolina accepts them until Nov. 12; and Nevada and Pennsylvania until Nov. 10.

By today’s deadline, Georgia could receive anywhere from zero to 8,899 military and overseas ballots. Those ballots could make a difference, according to Count Every Hero, an advocacy group with members including retired and former leaders like former Joint Chiefs Chairman Joe Dunford Jr.

Research Manager Jack Noland said “razor thin” margins in certain key states could contribute to the deciding votes at the end of the count. “Any attempts to stop vote counts, or disqualify mail-in ballots, will disproportionately affect military voters,” Noland said. “Every vote must be counted to protect the military and gain the trust of all Americans, regardless of their preferred presidential candidate.”

“We ask a lot of our military,” said Sec. James. “On a volunteer basis, to make sacrifices, separate from their family, risk life and limb—what is the message we’re sending by not counting their lawful votes? The 99 percent of Americans who do not or have not served owe it to the one percent that do to make sure that their voices are heard.”

At least 23,577 outstanding military ballots remain outstanding in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, according to Count Every Hero, a group that advocates for the voting rights of service members. Those include as many as 10,000 military ballots in Pennsylvania and another 8,900 mail-in ballots in Georgia, two states where Joe Biden held a razor thin edge over President Trump. The ballots either have yet to be counted or have not been mailed back to the states’ election board, Count Every Hero said, according to the Wall St Journal. Such ballots have to be received in Pennsylvania and Nevada by November 10 and by today (AEDT) in Georgia. “These overseas military members, and their families, could be the deciding votes at the end of the count,” said Ellen Moorhouse, a spokeswoman for Count Every Hero.

The broadsides have unsettled many veterans and former military brass who saw voting by mail as a tether to their civic duty when serving abroad. “Officials at all levels including in the Congress need to say to the president ‘Sir, you need to exercise the same patience that the rest of the nation does,’” said retired Navy Adm. Steve Abbot, who later served as deputy homeland security adviser in the George W. Bush administration.

“Anticipamos que las papeletas de los militares jugarán un rol decisivo en estas elecciones, ya que estas papeletas son algunas de las últimas en llegar y ser contadas”, afirma Jack Noland, investigador del grupo Count Every Hero, al Washington Post.

“There is no question that active-duty troops and other overseas voters could make the difference in the 2020 election,” the group’s co-chairman, retired Navy Adm. Jon Greenert, said in a statement. “It is crucial we count the votes from our service members and resist any calls to stop the count or declare a winner before these legal ballots have a chance to arrive.”

Military mail-in ballots are predicted to surge past levels in 2016, when the U.S. Election Assistance Commission says more than 252,000 active-duty service members cast absentee votes, according to Military.com. As of Oct. 22, the U.S. Postal Service reported that about 48,000 absentee military ballots had already been received, compared with 33,000 on the same date in 2016.

“Mr. President, remember your role as commander in chief,” said retired Marine Corps Gen. Tony Zinni, during a press call. “I think one of the obligations is to protect the rights of your service members that serve under you … and ensure that their voice is heard and their vote is counted.”

States have different guidelines for how long after Election Day they will accept absentee ballots. Arizona will accept ballots from service members that are received by Election Day, according to Jack Noland, research manager for Count Every Hero, a nonprofit, cross-partisan initiative formed this year with the goal of ensuring that every service member’s right to vote is protected and their votes tallied.

In a call Thursday organized by Count Every Hero, retired Gen. George Casey, who served as Army chief of staff during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, asked state officials to include assurances when they certify state votes that all service member ballots have been counted. “We ask so much of them, they deserve to know that their voices are heard,” he said.

An unprecedented number of Americans voted by mailing in a ballot this year — when the United States Postal Service was already hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Count Every Hero, a cross-partisan initiative, wants to ensure that before “rushing to call a winner,” all military ballots are counted.

With the race down to the wire in Georgia, those military absentee ballots could make a difference, according to Count Every Hero, an advocacy group with members including retired and former leaders like former Joint Chiefs chairman retired Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford Jr., former Air Force Secretary Debbie Lee James and retired Navy Adm. Jon Greenert, former chief of naval operations.

“I would say, Mr. President, remember your role as commander in chief,” said retired Marine Corps General Tony Zinni. “And, as commander in chief, I think your obligation is to protect the rights of your service members who serve under you, and to protect their rights and ensure their voice is heard and their vote is counted.”

In battleground, still undecided states the numbers are significant and could alter state vote totals. Pennsylvania counted more than 22,000 ballots in 2016 coming from citizens either living abroad or stationed overseas in the military. In North Carolina in 2016, 17,201 military and civilian absentee ballots were counted. Georgia and Nevada had similarly large numbers of ballots to be counted.

“We won’t know the exact number of ballots outstanding, but past elections show the importance of counting these votes,” said Jack Noland, research manager at Count Every Hero, an organization focused on ensuring military ballots are counted.

In 29 states and the District of Columbia, their laws and rules allow election officials to count ballots that arrive after the polls close from military, their family members, and U.S. citizens overseas, according to an analysis conducted for the Count Every Hero campaign. That organization has cautioned news organizations, candidates and election officials about declaring winners before the military vote is counted.

Overseas votes can have substantial electoral implications, according to the nonpartisan Count Every Hero campaign led by retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni. More than 70% of the available votes in the Electoral College will come from states counting overseas military ballots after Election Day and the states that accept ballots arriving a week after Nov. 3, or later, still account for a majority of the electoral votes, data published by Count Every Hero show. Ballots have to be sent before polls close.

Members of the U.S. military community, who have long relied on the mail-in system to exercise their civic duty while deployed abroad, are facing an extra layer of challenges this year. Absentee voting has come under scrutiny during this presidential election amid the protracted coronavirus pandemic, and for some of those who serve in the armed forces, voting this year has brought mixed experiences.

Pennsylvania is not the only swing state with thousands of military mail ballots and tight deadlines for counting them. Arizona and Michigan, two states considered pivotal in the presidential election, each had nearly 5,000 overseas mail votes in 2016 — and they will probably see more such ballots in 2020. Those two states do not count any mailed overseas ballots received after Election Day, even if they are postmarked by then, according to a report last month by Count Every Hero, an advocacy group for military voters.

The vast majority, about 70%, of active military stationed overseas who vote this year will cast their votes by mail. Because of that, veteran advocacy group Count Every Hero issues a preemptive call to ensure every vote submitted by service members makes its way into totals to impact the Nov. 3 elections.

“We’re going to have more mail-in ballots than ever before” in this election, said James, a member of the non-partisan Count Every Hero advocacy group that has called for every military ballot to be counted before a winner is declared. However, she said, “it’s a virtual certainty” that numerous lawsuits will be filed to challenge the mail-in vote.

Twenty-eight states and D.C. accept and count ballots from overseas service members that arrive after Election Day, according to a recent report by Count Every Hero. More than 70 percent of the available votes in the electoral college will come from states that count overseas military votes after Election Day, the report said.

“We’ve seen in the past, obviously Florida is the key example, that it can come down to a single state and not very many votes,” said Jack Noland, a researcher for Count Every Hero, a nonpartisan military voting advocacy group, to McClatchy DC. “It is not out of the realm of possibility, at all, that some of these statewide or down-ballot races could be determined by overseas and military voters.”

In Florida, as long as military mail ballots are postmarked by Nov. 3, and arrive by Nov. 13, the ballots will be counted, said Jack Noland, a researcher with the nonprofit Count Every Hero. Yet there’s misinformation circulating that if they arrive after Election Day, these ballots are somehow invalid or even fraudulent.

Many of us have decided that Trump has crossed a line. Our nation needs a leader who respects our military and understands the great sacrifice of our servicemen and women, not one who thinks of them as “losers.” – An op-ed by Count Every Hero Co-Chair Steve Abbot.

The average transit time for an absentee ballot is six days, according to a report put out by Count Every Hero, a campaign by the grassroots voter rights advocacy group Represent Us that aims to ensure military votes are counted in the 2020 election. That said, the timeline is dependent on where your ballot is coming from.

It’s important to make sure every vote is counted in this election, including our military men and women serving overseas. One group of retired military members is pushing to make sure that happens. Count Every Hero is fighting to ensure every service member’s right to vote is protected and counted.

More than two dozen states receive absentee ballots from overseas service members within a certain time frame after Election Day, according to Count Every Hero, an advocacy group led by retired generals and admirals. “It’s going to take some time to count these ballots,” Scott Cooper, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and spokesman for the group, said. “We need to have faith in the process.”

“Count Every Hero believes election outcomes shouldn’t be declared until all of those votes are counted,” said Abbot. “Every citizen deserves to have their vote counted, and for those who are standing the watch for us — we really owe it to them to make sure their votes are counted.”

According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program, there are 4.8 million U.S. citizens abroad, with nearly 3 million eligible to vote. Just under 1 million are members of the U.S. military. Because of the difficulties and delays inherent in sending and receiving mail internationally, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act was signed in 1986 to make sure such votes get counted by setting deadlines for how late ballots could be mailed to recipients overseas and permitting them to be counted if they arrived after Election Day.

“We’ve seen in the past, obviously Florida is the key example, that it can come down to a single state and not very many votes,” said Jack Noland, a researcher for Count Every Hero, a nonpartisan military voting advocacy group. “It is not out of the realm of possibility, at all, that some of these statewide or down-ballot races could be determined by overseas and military voters.”

In 29 states and the District of Columbia, the laws and rules allow election officials to count ballots that arrive after the polls close from military, their family members, and U.S. citizens overseas, according to an analysis conducted for the Count Every Hero campaign. It varies from two extra days in South Carolina to 20 days in Washington state. Count Every Hero, an organization led by retired generals and admirals, is also demanding that TV news anchors hold off declaring any election winners until all the military votes are counted.

A group of former service members have co-founded a cross-partisan advocacy initiative to ensure all overseas military absentee ballots are counted in the upcoming presidential election before a victor is declared. Count Every Hero is committed to two major principles: 1. Every service member’s right to vote must be protected and their votes must be counted. 2. Military voters must have an opportunity to register, request an absentee ballot, and cast a vote regardless of their location in the world

The cross-partisan group “Count Every Hero” said they are requesting a delay in declaring a winner for President until all of those ballots are counted. Spokesperson Scott Cooper, who is also a Retired United States Marine Corps Lt. Colonel, said this year, several things could contribute to a soldier’s ballot being delayed. First, he said the unprecedented number of absentee voters could create a backup. Couple that with delays within the US Postal Service, and Cooper said they believe that close to a week could go by before a deployed soldier’s ballot arrives at the proper precinct. That means if a winner is declared right away, Cooper said, some votes won’t ever even be tallied.

On Wednesday, October 21st, the Count Every Hero initiative hosted their first press call. The call featured Co-Chair of Count Every Hero, Admiral Steve Abbot, and campaign endorsers Air Force and Air Force Reserves Veteran Charlynda Scales and Retired Navy Captain Gabriel Soltero all shared their stories about the complexities of voting overseas. The call also featured Jack Noland and Anh-Linh Kearney, researchers from RepresentUs who shared an overview of their new report: Military Voting in All 50 States.

Count Every Hero — part of the Military Vote Coalition, a group of bipartisan organizations focused on increasing voting knowledge and accessibility for members of the military, veterans and their families — issued a report last week saying the military’s mail-in ballots could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the presidential election and should be counted before a winner is announced.

As Nov. 3 approaches, calls by President Donald Trump to declare a winner on Election Day have raised fears among the biggest, oldest group of mail-in voters: members of the military. A new nonpartisan group of retired US generals and veterans has come forward to say that could disenfranchise the 172,000 active-duty service members abroad and their families. As The World’s Rupa Shenoy reports, they call the effort “Count Every Hero.”

A group led by retired high-ranking military leaders has issued a clarion call to resist efforts to declare election winners until all military absentee ballots are counted, citing the impact these votes could have on the 2020 election.

A new study, titled ‘Military Voting in 50 States’ and published by Count Every Hero, which describes itself as “a cross-partisan campaign to ensure all service members’ votes are counted before election winners are declared”, has found that military ballots including those sent by personnel stationed overseas, could have “substantial electoral implications.”

“We have reason to believe many of those votes won’t be counted this election. That’s why I signed on to support Count Every Hero, a cross-partisan campaign to ensure all service members’ votes are counted before election winners are declared. In order for our votes to count this year, the public has to be prepared for election results to be delayed, and all candidates, media, election administrators, elected officials, and the courts should commit to waiting for the final count. This does not indicate fraud — slowing down to get it right ensures the safety and integrity of our elections.” An op-ed by Lynne Blankenbeker, an accomplished combat nurse. For more than 34 years, she has dedicated herself to caring for members of the military, veterans, and their families. This year, she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.

“…And, the group of citizens that our society trusts the most—military members and veterans—are depending on you to ensure our votes are counted. The reality is, though our armed service members dedicate their lives to honoring and serving our country, at large they have an extremely difficult time casting ballots and often must cast their ballots through the mail.” – An op-ed by Marjorie K. Eastman, a former resident of San Diego. She is a U.S. Army veteran and award-winning author of The Frontline Generation.

Chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, Count Every Hero is promoting efforts to educate troops on registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots, regardless of duty station. “We count on our troops to fight for our freedom, so we owe it to them to count their ballots. No candidate should be declared an election winner until all military ballots are counted,” Zinni said.

Anthony Zinni, a retired Marine Corps general, now works with an organization called Count Every Hero, which is dedicated to helping service members abroad vote and works to ensure their votes are counted back in the US. While in the Marine Corps, Zinni voted from Germany, Japan and while deployed in Vietnam. “We started teaching our Marines about what the Constitution is all about. If you’re going to defend it, you should understand it and know what it is, and the rights you are protecting, our citizens, our way of life,” Zinni said. “We want them to understand that the rights they are protecting, they should engage in and take advantage of, so part of it’s an education.”

A bipartisan campaign to ensure U.S. service members’ votes are counted launched Tuesday. Count Every Hero said in a statement released exclusively to The Hill that it is committed to protecting service members’ votes, as well as providing them with the opportunity to register, request an absentee ballot and cast a vote no matter where they are located in the world. The effort is chaired by Ret. Gen. Anthony Zinni, who served as a special U.S. envoy to the Palestinian Authority during the Bush administration.