Veterans are becoming an issue in the race for U.S. Senate, as Senator John Cornyn and his challenger, Democrat Rick Noriega, disagree on the best ways to take care of U.S. troops.

Cornyn stopped in Austin Monday to announce new legislation called the Military Voting Protection Act. It would shore up and speed up the delivery of ballots to troops serving overseas.

Some statistics show as many as two-thirds of overseas veterans who request ballots don't have their votes counted because of red tape or delivery lag time.

"To me it's a scandal that so few of our military's votes actually are counted," said Senator Cornyn.

Cornyn says the people fighting and sacrificing for freedom deserve their voices heard in elections.

"Who would know better about what's happening in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, and wouldn't we want their voice heard?" Cornyn said.

Cornyn's Democratic challenger knows something about those places. He served in Afghanistan as part of the National Guard.

When Noriega announced his run, he made his opposition to the Iraq War a central issue.

"When we have generals and other leaders of this nation feeding information and best practices and guidance and it isn't listened to, then we all suffer as Texans and as Americans," Noriega said.

Cornyn never served in the military, but his father was an air force doctor.

The Noriega campaign Monday questioned the timing of Cornyn's announcement.

"I think it's to convey a sense of support for us troops and service members when his voting record has been inadequate in that regard," said Tony Gray, Noreiga spokesman.

Noriega's campaign has pointed a vote which it says was "against body armor for soldiers," but Cornyn's campaign says the senator has never voted against Defense Department funding requests.

The political battle over the best way to support the troops comes against a backdrop of real battles overseas.