Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a video on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, urging U.S. service members and their families to register and vote in the upcoming November midterm elections. Hegseth noted that approximately 300,000 troops did not register to vote two years ago. The secretary directed military personnel to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), a government initiative that provides resources for overseas and service member voting.
The message comes amid a reported decline in military voter participation. According to the FVAP, 67 percent of active-duty military members were registered to vote in the 2024 election, representing a 3-percentage-point decrease from 2020. The agency also reported that 71 percent of the 1.3 million active-duty members are eligible to cast absentee ballots with special protections because they are stationed away from their voting residence.
In the video, Hegseth told commanders to encourage voting without influencing specific choices, stating, "You’re not telling them who to vote for. You’re just telling them to vote." He highlighted the use of standardized federal postcards for registration and the federal write-in absentee ballot for those forward-deployed. Hegseth has also recently campaigned for Republican candidates in Kentucky and Iowa.
In Washington, D.C., Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sent letters to Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. Slotkin asked for confirmation that the Department of Defense would not send federal troops to polling places or seize election materials. Slotkin expressed concerns that the administration could use the military to interfere with the midterm results, citing past deployments of the National Guard and Marines.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles previously stated in a Vanity Fair interview that claims the administration would use the military to suppress voting are "categorically false." During an April congressional hearing, Hegseth referred to questions about seizing ballots as "gotcha" hypotheticals, while stating he would not follow illegal orders. The Pentagon stated it would respond to Slotkin’s correspondence directly.
The efforts to increase registration affect approximately 1.3 million active-duty service members, a group that has seen its registration rate drop from 70 percent in 2020 to 67 percent in 2024. For military households stationed away from their home of record, the FVAP manages registration and absentee ballots. Service members who are forward-deployed or whose standard ballots are delayed are being encouraged to use federal write-in absentee ballots.
The engagement of the defense secretary in both voter registration drives and campaigning has drawn scrutiny. In May 2026, Hegseth campaigned for Ed Gallrein, who defeated Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in a primary. Following this, Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Sept. 15, 2026. Hegseth also recently made campaign stops in Iowa.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of armed forces to election locations unless necessary to repel "armed enemies." The recent requests for written commitments from Slotkin indicate ongoing concern over the interpretation of these statutes. Service members and voters will see the outcome of these registration efforts and legal debates as the 2026 midterm elections take place this November.