In a video posted Sept. 25, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth urged service members and their families to register to vote in the upcoming midterm elections as President Donald Trump’s party continues to run behind Democrats in the polls.
“Regardless of your home state or current duty status, you can use a standardized federal postcard to register and request a ballot, and if you’re forward deployed and your standard ballot is delayed, you can use the federal write-in absentee ballot,” Hegseth said. “All of these processes are straightforward and protected by law.”
In the nearly two-minute video, Hegseth also pointed service members to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website, where they can learn more about their right to vote. Additionally, he had a message to commanders: “You’re not telling them who to vote for. You’re just telling them to vote.”
The secretary’s video comes as he has campaigned for various Republican candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections.
A slight drop
Hegseth’s plea to service members comes as active-duty military voter registration dipped slightly in 2024 compared with 2020.
According to FVAP’s most recent report, in 2024, about 67% of active-duty military members were registered to vote in that year’s election, a drop of 3 percentage points from 2020. About 71% of the 1.3 million active-duty military members are eligible to cast an absentee ballot with “special protections because they are stationed away from their voting residence.”
Hegseth’s campaigning
In the lead-up to November’s midterms, Hegseth has been active on the campaign trail.
Back in May, he traveled to Kentucky to support Rep. Thomas Massie’s primary challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
“War fighters understand mission, they understand teamwork, they understand loyalty, and they understand that in the middle of a fight, you don’t weaken your own side to advance to the objective, and that’s what Ed Gallrein understands, because he has lived it,” Hegseth said.
Gallrein went on to beat Massie in the Republican primary and is favored to win the seat in a deeply red district.
Recently, on Sept. 15, Massie launched articles of impeachment against Hegseth, accusing the former Fox News host of betraying his oath of office and abusing his powers as a military leader. As of Sept. 25, neither Hegseth nor the Pentagon has responded to Massie’s allegations.
USA TODAY’s Zachary Schermele and Miles J. Herszenhorn contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Hegseth urges troops to register to vote ahead of midterms
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