Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered a military-wide one-day “stand-down” in October so service members can vote, saying troops face “unnecessary, difficult” barriers to casting ballots while serving far from home.
In a video message posted Oct. 2 on the department’s official @SecWar account, Hegseth said he is “directing all commanders and supervisors at all levels across this department to conduct a one-day stand-down during the month of October, beginning this year and continuing every election year.” This year, he said, the stand-down will be executed no later than Oct. 15.
Hegseth said voting for troops has been “time-consuming and complex,” citing absentee ballots for service members stationed away from their home states. “We’re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so,” he said.
The directive follows an Oct. 1 memo and comes one month before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reported that military-wide stand-downs are rare, and that roughly 300,000 service members were not registered to vote in 2024. The department said all voting assistance activities must remain strictly nonpartisan.
Video: @SecWar (public domain). Source: https://x.com/SecWar/status/2106012189048057872