Aristotle Joins DOD to Help U.S. Citizens Vote Abroad

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aristotle International, a leading nonpartisan political technology and data provider, announced today that it will be supplying reapportionment data to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), an organization within the Department of Defense. FVAP was formed to assist uniformed service members, their families and overseas civilians to vote absentee. 

FVAP assists military and overseas voters with the absentee ballot application process, registering to vote and obtaining ballots from anywhere in the world. Aristotle will provide FVAP with the data that ensures each voter is directed to the correct congressional district, which is determined by the results of the 2010 census and information on file with the Secretary of State or State Board of Elections. Many states' voter files do not yet reflect the new redistricting lines, the updating of which is an expertise Aristotle has pioneered over the years. Aristotle also provides data hygiene routines to standardize voter rolls, identify those who have died or moved for its non-governmental clients.

The official results from the census show that eight states have gained congressional seats and 10 states have lost seats. The other states may not have gained or lost a seat, but the congressional district lines changed. Aristotle will help FVAP get this updated information to citizens living abroad quickly and accurately.

"I am thrilled to assist in providing our service men and women, and their families all over the world, with a seamless and accurate voting process," said Aristotle CEO John Aristotle Phillips. "Our mission at Aristotle has always been to provide a broad range of information, technology and services on a non-partisan basis, to facilitate the democratic process.

"This is an important innovation in the voting process and I am pleased to be a part of what we see as incremental advances towards what may someday be Internet voting for U.S. citizens and voting by expats living in the US, in their own elections back home. Aristotle has some of the expertise and data that would be invaluable in re-inventing the process of voting for citizens everywhere."

FVAP administers the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which allows certain U.S. citizens to register and vote absentee in elections for federal office. These groups include: members of the military; eligible family of the military; Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, and Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. citizens employed by the federal government residing outside the U.S.; and all other private U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S.

The FVAP administers the federal responsibilities of the National Voter Registration Act, which designates armed forces recruiting offices nationwide as voter registration agencies allowing eligible U.S. citizens to apply for voter registration, or apply to change voter registration data.

About Aristotle
For more than 25 years, every occupant of the White House — Democrat and Republican — has used Aristotle products and/or services, in addition to many U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican state party organizations.

SOURCE Aristotle Inc.