You fight for the right, so cast your ballots Published Jan. 31, 2012 Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- State primary elections have begun and the Federal Voting Assistance Program has geared up to help military and U.S. citizens register to vote and request their ballots for absentee voting in the primaries over the next few months and the general election on Nov. 6 of this year. The 2012-13 voting cycle motto is "It's a freedom that you defend -- vote!" This is the message Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz gave in a recent public service announcement that can be viewed on the Air Force homepage at http://www.af.mil/news/video/index.asp. Air Force Voting Action Officer William D'Avanzo said, "Military members do register to vote at a higher rate than the general population, but we run into trouble when we wait too long to request or return our ballots to our local election officials. It's important for voters to send in their Federal Post Card Application well in advance of an election --preferably a minimum of 90 days beforehand." There are numerous web based products to assist Tinker's Active duty military members and their voting age dependents from government computers or their personal computer. The Tinker Homepage and the Federal Voting Assistance website can be accessed from either a government computer or personal computer. The Tinker Home Page site is located at https://wwwmil.tinker.af.mil/tinkervote/ or under the Base Services, Information tabs. The Federal Voting Assistance site can be located at http://www.fvap.gov/. These sites provide general state voting information, links to state voting websites and forms that active duty or dependents need to complete and return to register in their home state. These sites also identify the deadlines for the registrations, instructions on how and when to request ballots, and when you must submit them to ensure your vote is counted. All of the units assigned to Tinker AFB have identified Unit Voting Assistance Representatives who can provide further assistance if needed. UVAO representatives are listed on the SharePoint and Tinker homepage sites listed above. These UVAOs are trained and can walk voters in their respective squadrons through the process to exercise their right to vote. If you still have questions, or need assistance, you can reach representatives by emailing them to vote@tinker.af.mil.