Colorado Recognized by National Military Voter Protection Project as All-Star State

Colorado Recognized by National Military Voter Protection Project as All-Star State

Recognized for extraordinary efforts to protect voting rights of service members and their families

Denver, Colorado – Colorado was recognized today as an All-Star state by the Military Voter Protection (MVP) Project, for significant efforts to promote and protect the voting rights of America’s military service members and their families.

“Our service members put their lives on the line to preserve our freedom,” said Gessler. “They, and their families, deserve the opportunity to have their votes included. We’re proud of the work we’ve done, setting a high standard by passing legislation and using technology to better serve our military voters.”

In analyzing these states, the MVP Project looked at a number of factors, including:

• The state’s efforts to work with and reach out to local military installations and National Guard units on a proactive basis to provide on-base voter assistance;
• Its use of electronic and web-based services to send election materials;
• Its willingness to create specialized communications to military voters either through public service announcements or web-based announcements;
• The state’s legislative efforts to eliminate barriers to military voter participation; and
•  Its track record of making sure that absentee military ballots are sent out no later than 45-days before the election and, when they are not, a high degree of accountability to resolve and violations.
  

Colorado was recognized as an All-Star state by the Military Voter Protection Project, in addition to: Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

“Colorado and Secretary Gessler have been at the tip of the spear when it comes to promoting and protecting military voting rights.  As a veteran himself, Secretary Gessler understands the importance of defending the rights of those who defend us,” said Eric Eversole, founder and executive director of the Military Voter Protection Project.

For more information about the Military Voter Protection Project’s Heroes Vote Initiative or to view details about the MVP Project All-Star states, please visit http://www.heroesvote.org/.