Do you know Voting Assistance Officers exist? Have you ever reached out to yours?
If you are a military voter (service member or military spouse), care about voting accessibility, and have ~10 minutes to make a phone call and record your experience - you can provide vital information for our federal advocacy to increase access for all military voters!

This questionnaire aims to capture your experience with contacting a Voting Assistance Officer (VAO). VAOs are located at every military base, and are required to provide information on voter registration procedures and absentee ballot procedures, and assistance connecting you to the ballot box.
 
We have included advice on how to locate your VAO and a suggested script to assist with your outreach -  but feel free to use any language with which you are comfortable. 

Please reach out to rebecca.nowatchik@securefamiliesinitiative.org if you have any questions.

Thank you for volunteering your time!

Email *
What is your name? *
What is a good phone number to reach you at if we have follow up questions? *
What is your branch of service? *
Current military status (please provide clarification if necessary in the Other box):
 *
 Military connection - (check all that apply)
 *
Required
What is the service member's current rank? (If veteran, highest rank achieved)
Clear selection
Including this year, how many years have you been a military voter? (Military voter is defined as an individual serving in any of the military service branches, active duty or reserve, or dependent of a service member. If you are a veteran, please write "veteran" and provide any additional details you find relevant.) *
What is your current duty station or military installation? (If it is an atypical situation, please provide that info in the response box as well.) *
SECTION 2: IDENTIFYING YOUR VOTING ASSISTANCE OFFICER
This next set of questions is about your experience identifying and connecting with your Voting Assistance Officer (VAO). We want to know how accessible it was to locate and contact them.
How to find your VAO
The Department of Defense requires all departments and components to establish an Installation Voter Assistance (IVA) Office on military installations. These IVA Offices are to provide voter assistance to military personnel, their dependents, civilian Federal employees, and all qualified voters who have access to such installation offices. (DoDI) 1000.04  - www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/IVAOfficeExpectations.pdf)

Additionally, units may have individual VAOs with this collateral duty. The service member may or may not have met the VAO as part of their check-in process.  

To find your VAO, consider asking the service member, the unit's family resource coordinator (if one exists), reaching out to the legal office, and/or Googling "voting assistance officer [your base name or unit]".

Please record your VAO's contact information for yourself to contact and follow up with them as necessary, but we will not ask for their identifying information.
Before reviewing the information above, did you know how to contact your Voting Assistance Officer? *
Were you able to identify your VAO? *
How will you connect with your Voting Assistance Officer? *
Required
SECTION 3: CONNECTING WITH YOUR VOTING ASSISTANCE OFFICER
This next set of questions is about your experience once connected with your Voting Assistance Officer (VAO). 
Suggested script for contacting VAO
  • Introduce yourself and your military affiliation. Example: "Hi, my name is ____ and I am a military spouse. My service member is in unit _____."
  • Purpose for call. Example: "I have some questions regarding voting as a military voter and I'm hoping you can help me with these questions."
  • Ask Questions 1, 2, and 3 below, and any additional questions you may have regarding voting.
  • Thank them for their time and about their ability to assist with follow up questions. Example: "Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions today. If I have additional questions, can I reach out to you again? What's the best way to reach you? Thank you again."
Question 1 [Script]: Do you know what state I'm supposed to register to vote? [Provide context regarding your home of record or last registered voting address or current residency.]

How satisfied are you with your VAO's response to Question 1?
 *
Not at all satisfied
Very satisfied
Please provide any additional relevant information.
Question 2 [Script]:  How do I register to vote or check my voter registration?

How satisfied are you with your VAO's response to Question 2?
 *
Not at all satisfied
Very satisfied
Please provide any additional relevant information.
Question 3 [Script]: How do I make sure that I can vote? Will I vote in person or absentee?

How satisfied are you with your VAO's response to Question 3?
 *
Not at all satisfied
Very satisfied
Please provide any additional relevant information.
If you asked the VAO any additional questions, please list them here and describe their ability to answer the questions.
Please provide any additional information about reaching your VAO.
How was the overall process from wanting to contact a VAO to finally asking questions to the VAO? *
Very challenging / impossible
Very easy
How satisfied overall are you with your experience connecting with the VAO? *
Very dissatisfied
Very satisfied
The VAO was knowledgeable. *
Not at all knowledgeable
Very knowledgeable
The VAO was able to answer my questions. *
Unable to answer questions
Very able to answer questions
Please rate your agreement with this statement: I feel that the VAO I contacted is a good resource for voting information. *
Strongly disagree
Strongly agree
Please provide any additional information that you think is important for us to know about your experience with contacting your Voting Assistance Officer, including difficulty identifying or reaching your VAO. *
THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING FOR THIS PROJECT!
If you want to get involved with SFI and organize with a diverse and powerful group of military spouses and family members - consider signing up for a Caucus or Leadership Team - or join us on one of our upcoming Monthly Membership Calls!
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy
Google Forms