A Message from The Gunny:

So you think that you’re squared away…a highly motivated, truly dedicated, lean mean fighting machine? I bet you are ready for anything.

But, are you election ready?

Have you taken the time to make sure that your voice is heard on Election Day? It takes just a few minutes to request an absentee ballot and can be done right now. There are no excuses.

And, here is the deal: you can’t complain about the numbnuts in Washington, D.C. if you don’t vote. This year’s elections will have a significant impact on your life and your family’s lives. Big decisions will be made about your pay and benefits, national security, and the future of America. Failure is not an option.

You have sacrificed much to defend our fundamental right to vote at home and all over the world. It’s your right too.

Make sure that your voice is heard in November. Time to sound off!

Why is this important?…read the following:

Military ballot requests down in key battleground states

Requests from military voters for absentee ballots have dropped significantly  since 2008, according to newly released statistics, prompting claims that the  Department of Defense is dragging its feet in enacting a law meant to boost  military voting.

The drop in the battleground states of Virginia and Ohio is among the most  pronounced. According to statistics released Monday by The Military Voter  Protection Project, the number of absentee ballot requests by both military  members and other overseas voters in the two states has dropped 70 percent since  2008.

Virginia had nearly 42,000 total requests in 2008, compared with a little  more than 12,000 this year, according to the MVP Project. Ohio had more than  32,000 in 2008, compared with 9,700 this year. The number of military  voters specifically — as opposed to military and overseas voters — was not  broken down in the latest set of statistics, but military-only numbers released  by the MVP Project in August documented a similar drop-off in  applications.

At the time, military ballot requests in Virginia were down 92 percent.  Several other states showed a precipitous drop since 2008, including Alabama,  North Carolina and Florida.

“We need to make military voting the highest priority. … and we need to do  it now,” MVP Project founder Eric Eversole told Fox News.

A spokeswoman with the Defense Department, though, stressed that total  numbers will not be available until after the election. Further, Cmdr. Leslie  Hull-Ryde noted that 2012 is much different than 2008, in that the 2008 cycle  had contested primaries for both Democrats and Republicans. This year, only the  Republicans had a contested primary — and the Defense Department has adamantly  defended its voter outreach to date.

The department claims that compared with 2004, the last time an incumbent  president was running, the number of absentee ballots downloaded from the  central military website is similar.

“We are in complete compliance with the law,” Hull-Ryde said in a statement.  “(The Federal Voting Assistance Program) strives to ensure that every absent  military and overseas citizen voter has the tools and resources to receive, cast  and return an absentee ballot and have it counted — regardless of who they vote  for.”

Absentee ballot voting is critical for members of the military, many of them  stationed overseas or away from their home state. The MVP Project estimates that  roughly two-thirds of servicemembers need to vote absentee — though as of late  August, the group reported “an incredibly small percentage” of them was  requesting the ballots. Across Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio, the group  reported that less than 2 percent of eligible voters had requested ballots as of  August.

“The absentee ballot data for 2012 paints a bleak picture for military  voters,” an earlier MVP Project report said.

The updated figures on military and overseas absentee ballot requests, based  on statistics from the states, were released by the MVP Project on Monday. In  most cases, absentee ballots have already been sent out to military voters, as  required by federal law.

The MVP Project claims the Department of Defense has fallen short, though, in  implementing the 2009 law known as the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment  Act (MOVE). The law required absentee ballots be sent out no later than 45 days  before an election — but also required “voting assistance offices” be set up on  most military installations.

The MVP Project claims that in some cases, these offices were not only set up  after a November 2010 deadline passed, but were also located in areas not  associated with the check-in process — meaning servicemembers could be less  likely to visit them.

“This data should sound an immediate warning bell for military voters,” the  group’s August study said.

Read more at Fox News