Base to Ballot: Election Jurisdictions Surrounding Largely Populated Military Installations in the U.S

By Morgan Thomas, Policy Analyst

For military and overseas voters, finding the best way to cast a ballot can be challenging. Fortunately, the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) Voting Assistance Guide is a helpful tool to learn about voting as a service member under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act in your state. The FVAP Local Election Office Search Tool can also be used to find the contact information for a specific election jurisdiction.  

Voting presents unique challenges for service members, particularly due to frequent Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and Temporary Duty Assignments (TDYs) that often separate members and their families from their home voting jurisdictions. Relocations can disrupt access to timely election information, absentee ballots and clarity around state-specific voting requirements. The Overseas Voting Initiative developed a toolkit, Building Relationships with Local Installations, that state and local election officials can utilize to initiate communication with voters and address barriers within their jurisdiction. Consistent collaboration with base leadership and voting assistance personnel can ensure that service members receive accurate guidance and support to the right tools and resources to cast their ballot.  

Before election officials and voters can begin fostering a relationship with their local military installation, it’s helpful to have a general understanding of the U.S. military’s eight uniformed services, which includes the U.S. Armed Forces and the commissioned corps. The U.S. Armed Forces comprises six branches of the military: the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marines, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Space Force. The two remaining uniformed services are the U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. The U.S. military is comprised of two components: an active-duty component and a reserve component. Active-duty service members work full-time for the military, whereas the reserve component is traditionally a part-time service commitment; however, full-time opportunities also exist. All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces have an active duty and a reserve component except the U.S. Space Force, which is active duty only. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army are the only branches that have a National Guard, which is considered a reserve component. For a detailed explanation of these differences, refer to Military 101 Understanding the Differences between Active Duty and the Reserves, which offers valuable insights into the roles, responsibilities and commitments associated with each component. 

A jurisdiction may host or be nearby one or more types of military installations — active duty, reserve or National Guard facilities. An active-duty installation is a base or facility that supports full-time service members of the U.S. Armed Forces. These installations are operational hubs where personnel live, train, work and carry out missions. Active-duty installations are located both within the U.S. and abroad. Reserve units can deploy to train or augment active-duty personnel worldwide; however, physical reserve installations are only located in the U.S. These units can operate as stand-alone units or as attached units to active-duty installations. For example, the 445th Airlift Wing is an Air Force Reserves unit that operates as an attached unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an active-duty installation. On the other hand, Coast Guard Port Security Units (PSUs) are stand-alone reserve units and are not attached to an active-duty installation. Army Reserve Units often drill at Reserve Centers, which are not full bases, but are small stand-alone units sometimes far from an active-duty base. 

It is challenging to obtain data on the exact number of military personnel stationed at or residing at a given military installation. For the purposes of this article, the largest military installations for each branch and component are calculated based on the overall personnel population at a given military installation in the U.S., including civilians, active-duty personnel, reservists, contractors and National Guardsmen stationed at or living on base. Notably, this excludes installations belonging to the uniformed services due to the unique structure of the commissioned corps.