Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered all military commands to “stand down” for one day in the next two weeks to give U.S. service members time to vote in November’s midterm elections.
“We’re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so,” Hegseth said in a video message posted to social media on Oct. 2. “It’s then up to you to exercise your right as an American to choose your elected leaders.”
Hegseth issued a directive authorizing a one-day stand down every October in an election year starting in 2026, according to a memo dated Oct. 1.
A “stand down” is a military term to describe a directive to pause regular operations and allow personnel to rest or go off duty.
A military-wide stand down order is a rare occurrence.
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin drew attention for issuing a stand down in 2021 to combat right-wing extremism in the military.
Hegseth’s latest effort to get out the vote in the military comes just one month before the midterms. He previously urged U.S. service members and their families to vote in a similar video post on social media.
In that message, the Pentagon chief detailed instructions for how U.S. troops can vote by casting a federal write-in absentee ballot. The stand down order is intended to give service members more time to vote.
“We’re doing this because in the past, voting, for our men and women in uniform, has been time-consuming and complex,” Hegseth said in his Oct. 2 message.
In the memo ordering the stand down, Hegseth wrote that “all voting assistance activities must remain strictly nonpartisan.”
However, Hegseth has recently been active on the campaign trail as Republicans are struggling to maintain control of the House and the Senate amid high energy prices and the unpopular war against Iran.
Hegseth participated in a rally for Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL who defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, in the Republican primary. Trump endorsed Gallrein after Massie repeatedly feuded with the U.S. president while serving in Congress.
Before the House left Washington for a lengthy recess ahead of the midterms, Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth for continuing the U.S. war against Iran without congressional approval.
Hegseth also gave a speech in August at a campaign event for Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. Nunn served in the U.S. Air Force prior to running for office.
In a recent speech to U.S. troops at the Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth criticized Austin and Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who both served in the Biden administration, and touted his efforts to reshape the military’s culture.
“No more silly PowerPoint trainings or drag queen shows. No more diversity quotas, no more gender pronouns, no more identity months,” Hegseth said in the speech on Sept. 30. “Only the warrior ethos.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth says troops will get a day off to vote in the midterms
