‘Get out the vote’: Pete Hegseth gives military commanders midterm marching orders

WASHINGTON, DC: Secretary of State Pete Hegseth urged military commanders to help register service members and encourage them and their families to vote in the midterms, without directing their choices.

He cited studies showing 300,000 service members were not registered to vote in the 2024 election, comparing that number with ballots cast in several major cities.

Hegseth delivered the message in a video on Friday, September 25, urging military personnel to visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program website and register.

Pete Hegseth tells commanders to encourage voting without directing choices

“You're not telling them who to vote for. You're just telling them to vote,” Hegseth said, addressing military commanders in his video message.

He urged commanders to get out the vote and ensure voting assistance officers helped register service members. 

He also encouraged eligible family members and spouses to participate.

Hegseth directed troops to visit fvap.gov to register and request a ballot using a standardized federal postcard. 

He said the process was straightforward and protected by law.

For service members deployed overseas whose standard ballots are delayed, he pointed to another option: the federal write-in absentee ballot. His instructions covered both registration and access to ballots.

Hegseth recalls helping his own platoon register

Hegseth also drew on his experience as a voting assistance officer during his military service, describing how he helped members of his platoon and company register.

“That was actually once my job for my first platoon, second of 113th Infantry down at Guantanamo Bay,” he said.

“I was the voting assistance officer, and I proudly got everyone in my platoon and the company registered to vote,” Hegseth added.

He called on voting assistance officers to take an active role in helping service members register, reinforcing his request to commanders to encourage participation without influencing individual choices.

“Every warrior deserves an opportunity to cast his or her ballot, and be confident that it will be counted,” Hegseth said.

However, in May this year, Hegseth took the unusual step of campaigning for former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was challenging longtime Republican Rep Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.

Hegseth appeared alongside Gallrein, a fifth-generation farmer, at a campaign event, the day before Kentucky’s primary, urging voters to back him in the race for the state’s 4th Congressional District.

Hegseth said he attended the event as a private citizen in his personal capacity, not as a member of the administration. 

Secretary Hegseth invokes Washington and military voting rights

In his Friday video message, Hegseth framed voting as part of the freedoms the military exists to protect, linking the right to vote to the country's founding history.

“As you know, the War Department exists to protect our nation and her freedoms. That includes the freedom to decide who leads us and the right to vote,” he said.

He also invoked George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River 250 years ago, connecting the historical event to the right of Americans to determine their own political future.

“It's why General George Washington crossed the Delaware River 250 years ago for our right to determine our own American destiny,” Hegseth said. 

He emphasized that service members could register regardless of their home state or current duty status, before closing with a direct appeal to military personnel.

“Keep our nation the land of the free and the home of the brave. Get registered and vote,” he said.