Editorial: Vets and votes

The right of citizens to vote is a fundamental right. It is a duty of federal, state and local governments to promote the exercise of that right.

At least that's what the National Voter Registration Act says.

But there's a big gap between the words on paper and action on the ground – especially when it comes to the voter registration of those who have served this country in the armed forces.

Wounded veterans returning from Iraq, living in a hospital or rehab center, ought to be welcomed home as voting members of our democracy. And older veterans, living in a VA assisted-living facility or nursing home, also ought to be embraced as full voting members of our republic – not isolated from politics.

Yet at federal veterans facilities, the secretary of veterans affairs is insisting that voter registration is not part of the agency's core mission. In a May 5 directive, the VA made it clear that it will provide information on voter registration and voting to "veterans who request it." The VA will not allow voter registration drives, however, "to avoid disruptions to facility operations."

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has been a bulldog in exposing vote-suppression tactics over the last eight years, is on to this game. In a May 6 letter, she wrote, "We would appreciate knowing the type of disruptions the VA envisions might occur during voter registration drives by nonpartisan organizations, such as the League of Women Voters or veterans' organizations, and why any potential disruption could not be addressed by less-restrictive means."

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen also wrote to the secretary requesting that federal VA facilities in California be designated as official voter-registration agencies. Her request was refused.

Whether they're at the Sacramento VA Medical Center or the VA rehab center in Martinez, veterans should be able to register to vote. Certainly, administrators can set a time and place for voter- registration activities so as not to disrupt the life of a rehab center or assisted-living facility. This routinely happens at nonprofit, private and state-run facilities. Why not at federal VA facilities?

It seems that this really is about VA administrators not wanting to be bothered with setting up times and places for voter registration or other voting-related activities. And they seem to have a misguided idea that veterans should be protected from partisan activity. Shouldn't veterans living in VA facilities not only have access to voter registration, but also a chance to meet candidates?

Someone needs to tell the VA that veterans don't check their citizenship rights at the door when they enter a VA facility. The VA needs to change its policy in time for October registration deadlines for the 2008 election.