Team Pete kicks off voting week Published Sept. 27, 2016 By Philip Carter 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Sept. 26 kicked off voting season and it’s time for Airmen to start getting ready for the upcoming elections.“There are two special weeks in the voting year,” said Gail Whalen, Peterson Air and Space Museum director and the base voting assistance officer. “One is early around July 4. It’s to remind people to register.”During the other week, states send out the absentee ballots for absentee voting week.From Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, all base voting officers will hand out backup ballots, known as Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots. Backup ballots are used only for military members, their spouses and dependents who are away from their home state of residence.The military voter can use the backup ballot to write-in who they want for president, vice president, senators, or members of congress. The valid absentee ballot is then mailed to their home state.If the voter receives a separate ballot from their home state, they can still fill the new ballot out and return it. If the state receives both ballots, the state will only use the ballot they sent so the Airman doesn’t vote twice.“The whole idea of the federal voting program is to make sure if you’re a military member and you want to vote, you can do it,” said Whalen. “We have all kinds of opportunities to register, get your ballot and make sure your home state knows where you are.”Airmen can discover their state of residence by looking at their Leave and Earnings Statement.For more information about voting on Peterson AFB, contact Whalen at the base voting office at 719-556-5543, or vote@peterson.af.mil.For information about El Paso County and Colorado voting, contact Jace Richards at 719-520-7094 or uocava@elpasoco.com.