U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed just wrapped up a conference call with reporters to get the word out about the Department of Veterans Affairs new directive allowing nonpartisan groups to conduct voter registration drives at VA facilities.
Such groups, which would include county auditors offices and the League of Women Voters, must first apply to the agency and be approved before being allowed in. Its believed the process to process an application could take a day or so.
Theres a sense of urgency because the deadline for registering to vote in the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 4. And Reed and Murray hope any interested groups to get moving.
We just have a few weeks to make it happen, Murray said.
Of all people they deserve to have us bend over backwards to make sure theyll be able to participate in our election process, Reed said of patients at VA facilities.
Both Murray and Reed called the new agency directive a significant first step.
Jeff Honeycutt, director of Voluntary Services for the VA Puget Sound, was on the call and said the new policy is more of a clarification. Designated volunteers have been allowed to help patients register to vote since July, he said.
But Reed said it was quite a complicated process and one that was unlikely to produce an extensive amount of participation.
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