The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) is proud to announce the winners of the Department of Defense (DoD) 2003 Voting Slogan Contest. The 1st Place slogan was submitted by SSgt Stephanie Csomok, USAF from Misawa AFB, Japan. Her slogan, “It’s Your Future, VOTE For It” was selected by an independent panel of judges from thousands of entries that were submitted during the contest. The Judges were The Honorable Robert W. Ney, Chairman of the Committee on House Administration and Representative from the 18th Congressional District of Ohio, The Honorable Carl Levin, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senator from Michigan, The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Representative from the 18th Congressional District of Florida, The Honorable Mary Kiffmeyer, President of the National Association of Secretaries of State and Secretary of State of Minnesota, and Ms. Peggy Conlon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Advertising Council, Inc.
As the winner of the contest, SSgt Csomok will receive a plaque from the Secretary of Defense, and her slogan will be featured in the FVAP’s 2004-05 voter outreach effort designed to motivate the millions of citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The slogan will be featured on a motivational poster and in the soon-to-be-released 2004-05 Voting Assistance Guide.
The Judges also selected second through fifth place slogan contest winners, who will be awarded plaques from the Secretary of Defense.
The 2nd Place winner was SSgt Trevor P. Allen, USMC from Okinawa, Japan whose entry was “Our Country, Our Leaders, Our Choice, VOTE!” Third Place went to HMC Noel D. Gravina, USN from Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. Chief Gravina’s slogan was ““Decide Tomorrow Today . VOTE!” The 4th Place slogan, ““Celebrate Your Freedom! VOTE!” was submitted by Sylvia D. Johnson, a civilian employee of the U. S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia. Mary Jane Carty, a civilian employee of Ft. Detrick, Maryland submitted the 5th Place winner, ““Red, White, and Blue, Our Nation’s Freedom Depends On You, Vote!”
The panel of judges made difficult choices in narrowing down the thousands of submitted entries to reach their selection of the final five. Remarking on the conclusion of the contest, FVAP Director, Ms. Polli Brunelli, extends “Congratulations to the winners! I also extend a very special thank you to all of you who made the contest possible-those who worked on the contest, the Judges who gave their time to select the winning slogans, and especially to those who participated in the event.”
The Federal Voting Assistance Program salutes all of you who made this year’s contest such a success. The winning slogans, and many of the other unique slogans that were submitted during the contest, are featured in the 2004-05 Voting Assistance Guide.
As the Senior Service Voting Representative for the Coast Guard I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Voting Assistance Officers for the important and demanding role they play in the voting process of our men and women in uniform. Without you, thousands of votes in every state would go unheard.
As we begin preparing for the 2004 Presidential election, I want to reemphasize the importance of maintaining a high profile within the command and ensuring voter awareness throughout the coming year. It is our responsibility to reach every eligible member and their dependents in the Command, and to provide him or her a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), Form SF 76, and any assistance they may need in processing the application. VAO’s can order the FPCA form SF 76 with unit funds through GSA using the following: NSN 7540-00-634-5053.
I encourage all VAO’s to attend one of the Federal Voting Assistance Program voting workshops being held at a Military installations in your area. For those VAO’s that are unable to attend a scheduled workshop due to location or OPTEMPO please go online at: http://www.fvap.gov and review the VAO online training.
For further information on the Coast Guard’s Voting program VAO’s are encouraged to contact the Coast Guard Voting Action Officer, at (202) 267-2005/1636, or visit the Coast Guard’s Voting Web site at:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wp/g-wpm/g-wpm-1/VotingAssistance/Voting_Assistance.htm
Nearly four years ago, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) introduced the On-line version of the Federal Post Card Application (OFPCA). FVAP’s goal to take advantage of technology to more effectively and efficiently serve Uniformed Services and overseas citizens voters was one of the reasons the OFPCA was developed.
The OFPCA is in Adobe Acrobat® format and can be downloaded and viewed on your personal computer. You may fill it out on-line, print it out, manually sign and date it, place it in an envelope with proper postage affixed and then mail it to the appropriate Local Election Official in your state (see WHERE TO SEND IT in your state’s section of the current edition of the Voting Assistance Guide). Since mailing election materials is considered “official business,” military personnel and other Federal employees may use government supplied, postage paid mail services. Other UOCAVA citizens should affix the proper postage.
The OFPCA may also be printed out blank and completed on a typewriter or by hand in blue or black ink following the same guidelines as above. However, completing this form on-line will help eliminate possible delays caused by illegible handwriting. When completing the OFPCA, please refer to the instructions in the state sections of the Voting Assistance Guide. Today, more states and territories accept the on-line version and soon, Louisiana will accept it. Of the 55 states and territories, 52 jurisdictions will accept the OFPCA-only American Samoa, Guam, and Ohio do not accept the on-line version and require the card stock form.
Although the OFPCA is available at the FVAP website, Voting Assistance Officers should ensure they have adequate stock of the Federal Post Card Application (SF-76) to distribute to the citizens they serve. The OFPCA was developed as an alternative to the card stock form to assist those citizens who did not have ready access to the FPCA form. Since the card stock FPCA is postage free when mailed in the U. S. Postal System, including the Military Postal System and State Department mails, it remains the preferred version.
Distribution of the 2004-05 Voting Assistance Guide (Guide) will begin in November. The Guide is the most important tool available to Voting Assistance Officers (VAOs) for guidance in assisting citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The Guide features a state-by-state breakdown of procedures for requesting registration and/or an absentee ballot, primary and general election calendars as well as guidelines for VAOs to follow in carrying out their responsibilities. The latest edition has been coordinated with the states and territories to incorporate changes to state and Federal voting laws since the 2002-03 edition was printed. While the “hard copy” Guide will be available in November, the on-line version should be available at the FVAP’s website http://www.fvap.gov/ by the end of this month. The Guide will be delivered to a central distribution center in each of the Uniformed Services, Department of State, Peace Corps, Public Health Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and various other government departments and agencies that employ or service citizens voting under the UOCAVA. While distribution will begin in November, the date of actual receipt by VAOs will vary, depending on their organization’s distribution method. In all cases, the Guide should be available to VAOs no later than December 2003. This early distribution should enable VAOs to start planning for the 2004 elections well in advance of the primary elections, which begin in January.
Chief Voting Action Officer: Jack Markey, tel: (202) 647-4937; fax: (202) 647-6201, e-mail: markeyjd@state.gov
Deputy Voting Action Officer: Bonita Harris, tel: (202) 647-5435; fax: (202) 647-6201, e-mail: HarrisBG@state.gov
Dept. of the Army:
James Davis, tel: (703)325-4530 DSN: 221-4530; fax:(703) 325-4532 DSN fax: 221-4532; e-mail: davisj@hoffman.army.mil
World Wide Web: https://www.perscomonline.army.mil/tagd/pssd/psb/voting/votingindex.htm
Dept. of the Navy:
Lt Brian Campbell, tel: 1-866-U-ASK-NPC (827-5672), DSN: 882-4327, fax: (901) 874-2785, DSN fax: 882-2785;
e-mail: Mill_navyvote@persnet.navy.mil: World Wide Web: http://www.persnet.navy.mil/nvap
Dept. of the Air Force:
Lt. Col. Lee Shick, tel: (210) 565-2338 (Assistant: MSgt. Julie Schlip), 1-866-229-7074 (select option 4, then 6 from menu); DSN: 665-2338; fax: (210) 565-2543, DSN fax: 665-2543; e-mail:
afpc/dpsfvotingpgmdlist@randolph.af.mil
; World Wide Web: http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/votefund/
Marine Corps:
GySgt Kenneth B. Warford, tel: (703) 784-9511, DSN: 278-9511; fax: (703) 784-9828, DSN fax: 278-9828;
e-mail: warfordkb@manpower.usmc.mil; World Wide Web: https://lnweb1.manpower.usmc.mil/manpower/mi/mra_ofct.nsf/mrp/Voting+Home
U.S. Coast Guard:
YNCS Lori McNaught tel: (202)267-1636, fax: (202) 267-4823;, e-mail: LMcNaught@comdt.uscg.mil
World Wide Web: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wp/g-wpm/g-wpm-1/VotingAssistance/Voting_Assistance.htm
All of the above can also be reached through the DoD Voting Information Center and the FVAP website.
Voting Information News provides information for citizens and Voting Assistance Officers and is published monthly by the FVAP.
Director: Polli Brunelli
Deputy Director: J. Scott Wiedmann
Program Analyst: Betty Collins
Program Analyst/Co VIN Editor: John Godley
Program Analyst: Brian Griffiths
Program Analyst/Co VIN Editor:Paul Mendez
Program Analyst: Elaine Perna Tucker
Program Analyst: Terry Wade
SERVE Program Manager:Carol Paquette
SERVE Technical Director: James Cunningham
Info. Systems & Services: Terrence Williams
IT Specialist: Maurice Howe
IT Specialist: Susan Leader
USNR Special Projects: Britford, Richard, CDR
USNR Special Projects: Holdsworth, Brian, LCDR
FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
PHONE:
(703) 588-1584
DSN 425-1584
FAX:
(703) 588-0108
DSN 425-0108
VOTING INFORMATION CENTER:
(703) 588-1343
DSN 425-1343
TOLL FREE:
1-800-438-VOTE (8683)
E-Mail:
vote@fvap.ncr.gov
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www.fvap.gov