Using Your Voice Beyond the Ballot Box: Understanding Civic Engagement
- Jetta Allen
- Mar 17
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 3
By: Jetta Allen and Keri Pennie
Almost all of us have voiced an opinion on social media—be it a post, thread, or meme. Your digital imprint may receive several likes and comments, maybe even stir up lively debate, but it won’t reach an audience that holds real sway, which are our congressional officials (representatives and senators). Social media and digital habits have diluted our voice into passive forms of participation. Engaging in our democracy requires action. By expressing your needs and values directly to your elective representatives via e-mail, phone calls, or social media posts, you are doing your part in upholding our democratic framework.
The lack of voter participation actively contributes to the outcome of each election. According to data from the University of Florida Election Lab, in the 2024 general election, approximately 245 Million Americans were voting eligible. 89 MILLION Citizens did not turn out and exercise their constitutional right to vote. That’s 36% of the population whose voice remained silent and unaccounted for in our country. Some say voting polls should be open on Sunday for more involvement, modeling the voting process in place across Europe. Imagine how different the outcomes could be if we took the initiative to make our voices heard? How do we move from disengagement to re-engagement? Civic engagement can start at any time.
Voting is the backbone of our republic, shaping our democracy. Your voice can be heard beyond the ballot box. Elected representatives want to hear from their constituents—that’s you! As public servants, they represent our interests, listen to our concerns, and ultimately represent all those who live within the area they represent. Our elected officials aid in the accountability of our government, shape policy, problem solve, and often need our support to maintain relevance as they influence our government processes.
This article is your resource for understanding how to vote abroad, locate and contact your elected representatives, and the ins and outs of military House and Senate committees that directly influence our lives. You will find tips for effective letter writing and even applications for your phone that make it easy for your voice to be heard! You will find a list of non-profit organizations that support various areas of interest in the military community. These non-profits effectively work on changes in our government through a unified voice, and a systematic process of advocacy, and might be the community you are looking for to use your voice beyond the ballot box truly.
Voting Abroad
Voting abroad allows U.S. citizens overseas—military members, federal employees, contractors, and their families—to participate through absentee voting. The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) provides resources and assistance to help these voters register and request absentee ballots using forms like the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). Absentee voting ensures overseas citizens can exercise their right to vote in federal, state, and local elections, regardless of their location, through secure and accessible processes. While the processes are different from state to state, county to county, and city to city, the FVAP offers guidance on voting deadlines, ballot submission, and other key election-related details. You can also find voter tools and services from the Overseas Vote Foundation. Here there are clear explanations of voting abroad, overseas voting reform initiatives, tool kits for service members, answers to frequently asked questions and much more. Each squadron has a Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) and your local military branch’s family readiness centers can assist you further with additional questions.
Identifying Your Representatives
Your voice doesn’t end at the ballot box. You can contact local, state, and federal representatives—so where do you start? USA.Gov is your one-stop shop, allowing you to identify names and contact information for Local, State, and Federal Officials in one space after sharing your residency or “Home of Record” address. The information populated will include the officials’ party affiliation, address, phone number, website, and social media accounts. One pitfall, it doesn’t share the officials’ contact email, but you can find it with the information given.
Next, GovTrack.us and Democracy.io are other recommended resources. These sites will ask for your residency address and then populate the names of your representatives and offer many other features.
GovTrack.us has a feature I find valuable. On the main landing page, you can find your representatives, but you can also find legislation that affects you by selecting a subject area to search for and you can sign up for alerts. Areas to search for include (but are not limited to): Armed Forces and National Security, Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, Education, Energy, Foreign Trade and Financial Sectors, Health, Housing and Community Development, and so many more. Another feature is seeing recent major votes on legislation. This information could be valuable for your letter writing. The “Legislation Coming Up” feature shares what will be voted on in upcoming weeks, again, another important aspect of letter writing.
Democracy.io has a “Write Your Message” function that will have a box for you to write a message and then the site will send the same message to all your representatives. For another option, head to the representatives’ website and use their individual forms and submission process. For finding specific representatives in the House or Senate, there are also other websites available to find those.
Annual Impacts of the Presidential Budget Request and NDAA
If I told you there was a piece of legislation discussed year-round, every year, that was written specifically for the Department of Defense and the military community would you believe me? Each February the President of the United States submits a proposal to Congress, outlining the priorities and expenses of the country for the fiscal year called the Presidential Budget Request (PBR). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) helps prepare this budget. If you want to know what is being requested, you can with the resources below. This budget provides the actual funds for national defense and allocations to the Department of Defense. But what governs how those funds are spent and how does it impact military-connected communities?
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes the U.S. Department of Defense's budget. It's been passed annually since 1961 and is discussed by constituents, non-profit agencies, and elected representatives all year long. The NDAA impacts every single person in the military-connected community. Not only does it have items related to budget, but it also contains a wide range of issues including the organization of the military, equipment, education, and even the rights of military parents! As this law is debated and amended annually, your voice is desperately needed to shape its contents! Let me tell you how.
Resources for the PBR, OMB, and NDAA
U.S. Federal Budget Explained (CBO and OMB): https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56415
Government Accountability Office (GAO): https://www.gao.gov/
NDAA and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees
The NDAA is reviewed, drafted, and passed by two main committees in Congress: the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. These committees are made up of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Representatives represent approximately 750,000 citizens of America and are elected for a two-year term. Senators are only two per state and represent the entire state. Senators are elected to six-year terms.
The members of these committees change annually and knowing who is currently serving on these committees and subcommittees is crucial when you are looking for an avenue for advocacy and a specific representative to be invested in the solution or feedback you seek. When you reach out to these representatives, not only can it impact the NDAA draft being developed, but it gives your voice a platform to the representatives that hold the ability to influence changes in other parts of government policy, policy that impacts the military community, and those even outside our military community.
Subcommittees on the Senate Committee for Armed Services change over time including their leadership, members, and focus areas, particularly with each new Congress convening every two years. Currently listed on the website are the following subcommittees:
Subcommittee on Personnel: Focuses on military personnel issues, military education, DoDEA schools, DoD childcare, education considerations for military children, recruitment, benefits, military health care, MWR, and more.
Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support: Deals with military readiness, training, logistics, housing, business management, base alignment and closures, defense energy, and defense infrastructure.
Subcommittee on Airland: Covers issues related to Army, Air Force, National Guard, and Reserve planning operations, equipment, policy, and strategy.
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity: Addresses national security in the cyber domain including oversight for budget accounts, DoD offices, and cyber agencies.
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities: Handles issues related to science, technology, special operations, intelligence, counterterrorism, security operations, and more.
Subcommittee on Seapower: Focuses on Navy and Marine Corps planning, defense, and operational planning, including shipbuilding and maritime operations.
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces: Oversees U.S. nuclear weapons policy, missile defense, space capabilities, Department of Energy, and defense environmental management programs.
The House Armed Services Committee holds many hearings on various topics. You can find full committee hearing recordings, information on their business meetings, transcripts, and summaries. On their website you can filter this information by the various subcommittees listed above as well, helping you to stay current on specific areas of your interest.
Those serving on these committees can provide oversight and accountability to various aspects that each committee has purview over. As we shared before, the representatives serving on these committees also serve within other places of government. Letters written to them impact so many areas of government, but not every member of the Senate and House works specifically in the armed services committees, so you may want to prioritize who you’re sending letters to based on the subject.
Resources for the NDAA and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees
Using Your Voice: Tools and Strategies for Effective Advocacy and Civic Engagement
Now that we've explored the importance of using your voice beyond the ballot box, it's time to dive into how you can take action. Look for Part 2 in May’s issue where we’ll share tools and strategies to make your advocacy even more impactful. From writing effective letters to using apps that connect you directly with lawmakers, we'll guide you through the practical steps to ensure your voice is heard loud and clear. Be sure to check back for the next installment and get ready to amplify your civic engagement!
Kronenberg, A. (2024, November 15). How Many People Didn’t Vote in the 2024 Election? US News. Retrieved February 19, 2025, from https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services (n.d.). 118th Congress Subcommittees. Retrieved February 19, 2025, from https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/subcommittees
*The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
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