Hegseth Orders One-Day Military Stand-Down So Troops Can Vote Before Midterms

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered every command in the U.S. military to halt normal operations for one day this month so service members can register, request absentee ballots, or vote ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.

The directive is in a memorandum dated Oct. 1 and titled “Military Voting Stand Down.” Hegseth announced it in a video posted Friday on X. Commanders and supervisors at every level must conduct the stand-down in October of each even-numbered year, beginning this year. This year’s pause must be finished no later than Oct. 15.

“We’re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so,” Hegseth said in the video. “You are the best citizens of our country, and therefore you should have every opportunity to exercise your right to vote.”

The memo says the day is for training, processing, and submission of Federal Post Card Applications, the form uniformed voters and overseas citizens use to register and request an absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Commanders must give troops time to meet with unit voting assistance officers, check state rules, finish registration, and send the application in time for a ballot to arrive. Eligible family members are covered as well.

Hegseth told troops stationed outside their home states to use the day to fill out an absentee ballot, help family members do the same, or vote in person where that is available. He also pointed to the federal write-in absentee ballot, the backup form deployed personnel can use if a state ballot is late or never arrives. “All of these processes are straightforward and protected by law,” he said.

The memo requires the assistance to stay nonpartisan. “No commander, VAO, or leader at any level shall attempt to influence, direct, or advise a Service member or their family on how or for whom to vote.”

More than 418,000 active-duty service members, about 23 percent of the force, were not registered to vote in 2024, according to Federal Voting Assistance Program data cited by the department. Nearly three-quarters of active-duty members are eligible to vote absentee because they live more than 50 miles from the address where they are registered.

Hegseth tied the order to a designation from President Trump to make sure military votes are counted. In the video he contrasted it with the military-wide stand-down ordered in 2021 by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Austin paused training so commanders could discuss prohibited extremist activity and the oath of office. Hegseth said Austin “paused training operations and exercises to address a vaguely defined but urgent extremism problem … ‘patriot extremism.’” He called the voting pause the product of “a new and apolitical War Department with all the right priorities.”

The midterms are Nov. 3. Early and absentee voting is already underway in multiple states. The stand-down does not change state deadlines or create a new ballot. It sets aside duty time, once each federal election year, for troops to use the system already written into federal law.