Politics

Mail-In Voting Is Underway For Service Members, And Their Votes May Be More In Play This Year

By • Oct 15, 2020
San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu stands in a warehouse filled with supplies for the 2020 election.
Mike Damron / KPBS

Military personnel have been voting by mail since the Civil War. This year, some polls suggest that troops' political preferences may be changing.

Frequent Moves and Confusing Laws Often Keep Military Spouses From Voting

By • Oct 29, 2018
Kristin Backlund, whose husband is an Air Force ROTC instructor, holds her Alaska absentee ballot. She says obtaining and completing it was a complicated process.
Sarah Harris / American Homefront

A new study suggests military spouses vote much less than servicemembers, and they may not be getting the help they need to cast their votes.

Dozens Of Veterans Are Running For Congress. But Does Military Service Prepare Them For Politics?

By & • Aug 24, 2018
Congressional candidates MJ Hegar (right) and Gina Ortiz Jones speak at the LBJ Presidential Library in June. Both are military veterans seeking their first political office.
Jay Godwin / LBJ Library

Veterans now make up less than 20 percent of Congress, compared with about 75 percent in the 1960s. Some high-profile candidates are trying to reverse that trend.

Clinton, Trump fail to impress LA vets in forum

By John Ismay • Sep 8, 2016
Josue Guerrero served as a Marine mortarman and saw combat in Iraq. After the "Commander in Chief Forum" showcasing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Mr. Guerrero said he's still open to hearing from a third-party candidate.
John Ismay/KPCC

Josue Guerrero served as a Marine mortarman and saw combat in Iraq. After the "Commander in Chief Forum" showcasing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Mr. Guerrero said he's still open to hearing from a third-party candidate. John Ismay/KPCC

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's appearance on a nationally televised forum on national security and veterans' issues Wednesday night left some military veterans in Los Angeles wishing they could hear more from third-party candidates.

Are Expensive Elections Keeping Veterans From Running For Office?

By • Apr 15, 2016
Just six percent of California legislators have served in the military, one of the lowest percentages in the U.S.
David Monniaux / Wikipedia

A new report from the American Enterprise Institute shows there aren't many military veterans in California's state legislature, even though more vets live in the state than anywhere else.

Near Ft. Bragg, Trump Praises Military, Defends Position on Torture

Days ahead of North Carolina's primary, Republican front-runner Donald Trump led a boisterous rally in Fayetteville.