Official Asks More Time for Military Votes (Up to 14 days after election)

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of votes from U.S. troops overseas could go uncounted again in November without emergency legislation extending deadlines for the ballots, a Chicago election official warned President Bush in a letter Tuesday.

Nearly 30 percent of military voters who requested ballots in 2000 didn't get them in time to vote. Theresa M. Petrone, a Democratic member of Chicago's three-person Board of Election Commissioners, told Bush the problem could be solved if he proposed emergency legislation giving election officials up to 14 days after Election Day to collect and count ballots.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-military-voting,0,6349485.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Would they still have to be postmarked

by election day?

You can't allow people to continue voting after the results have been announced.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

27. How long does it take a personal letter from the battlefield?

Assuming that a letter from the battlefield is the toughest case to handle, how long does it take a letter to get home to the loved ones? 13 days?

[lebkuchen]

2. I live on an overseas military base, and I agree!! Have a look...

BEST OF STARS AND STRIPES LETTERS TO EDITOR

See if this works.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2139209

[John Q. Citizen]

9. lebkuchen, your links don't work

Can you fix them. I'd like to read those letters. Thanks

[lebkuchen]

12. They're fixed

Thanks for telling me.

[John Q. Citizen]

17. Thanks lebckuchen!

Works great.

[RamboLiberal]

3. I say Bullshit - they know when the election is

Tell the military to get those votes in by election day.

What, are we now supposed to wait 14 days to announce the winner!

I wouldn't trust this!

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Nah they mean to get them in, not postmarked

the rule is that they have to be postmarked by election day


But I know why you are suspicious and here is my theory...

The Repukes KNOW the miliary is not in Bush's hip pocket, so this time around we are not going to insist they are here on time, and COUNTED.

Look you missed the Generals and Admirals on stage, didn't you? I knwo the miliary has turned and really turned...

[lebkuchen]

16. rmpalmer, in a close race we need at least a couple of days latitude

I don't live on a ship at sea or on Base Normandy (sic), but it is still very difficult to get mail stateside in a timely manner, even from Europe. I had to end up faxing my anti-Arnie vote because of a screwup in stateside paperwork.

The soldiers are unhappy, and their spouses are even more so. I think the extra time will help Kerry.

Keep in mind, no paperless ballots for overseas this year. All have a papertrail.

[RamboLiberal]

20. What's wrong with getting the ballots out there early?

So they get back on time? It's not like we don't know who's running.

[joycep]

23. That is exactly what I was thinking

I certainly want the military to have the privilage of voting. In fact I would say they had even more right to vote than I do. But it just makes sense to me to send ballets out early so they will have plenty of time.

[montanacowboy]

4. They better watch out what they ask for

they might get it....they are so cocksure the military are going all their way again -

[John Q. Citizen]

13. montanacowboy;

It was a Democrat who asked for the extension. I think the military will probably split or go Kerry this year, but not by a huge margin.

I support letting the military votes be counted because I support democracy, but they shouldn't be able to cast the votes after Nov 2, just like the rest of us.

Or hey could all get absentee ballots and vote early.

[progressivebydesign]

5. Oh god.. not THIS again!!

They have plent of time to get the ballots here in time. I am NOT waiting 14 days to find out who is president!! This is bullshit! Do the work on the other end of the election, as in.. get them to vote 14 days early. This is bullshit.

[CityDem]

6. Why can't the military get this right

After the problems experienced in the 2000 election, it is apparent that the military is not up to the challenge. This just seems like another opportunity for BushCo to manipulate the election results. If the military brass cannot get the votes in on time, throw the past due ballots in the dumpster.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Becuase they no longer handle the mail service

it has been privatized and has been privatized for a while

Trust me, sending packets to troops has been fun, NOT

[SoCalDem]

7. BULL SHIT....

We all know who's running... How hard can it be..???

They can all just vote EARLY...Like Oct 15th.. That gives them plenty of time to arrive..

ANY ballot that does not arrive BEFORE or ON election day is INVALID..How hard is that to understand????

If it's that hard for them to vote, the brass at the top need to get a grip on things NOW..an extension is not the answer..

[Demoiselle]

28. Amen, SoCalDem!

(eom)

[stickdog]

8. Hmmm, how about just getting it together BEFORE the election?

mmm-kay?

[daleo]

14. Just in case it takes a while to see how to "fix" things

They have had 4 years to correct this problem. Why is this still an issue?

[tabasco]

18. That's what I thought too.

A bigger window of opportunity for abuse.

[AFSCME girl]

15. I cannot even believe this.......

it's the same frickin crap all over again! Makes me feel like my head is gonna explode!!!!!!!!!!:nuke:

[DaveSZ]

19. I wouldn't trust this

If Bush loses, they'll stuff the military ballots in his name and forge as many as needed to make up the dif.

[bluedog]

21. I saved this story.from about a month ago............

the link no longer works so heres a story that they knew ballots were running late!

Seems like the military is slow on getting the ballots out ...........Call your congresscritters and demand they get the ballots to our soldiers who are risking their lives for the mistakes.....

By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY

Problems with military absentee ballots that clouded the 2000 election have not been fixed, jeopardizing the ability of more than 160,000 troops fighting in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) to have their votes counted this fall.

• The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress formerly known as the General Accounting Office (news - web sites), found that the system used to collect and deliver mail in Iraq, including absentee ballots, suffers from long delays and other problems.


• The Pentagon's inspector general found that a Defense Department program to ease voting by Americans overseas, including deployed troops, continues to be given low priority by field commanders. Surprise visits to 10 foreign sites found seven programs ineffective and three only partially effective. Nearly three of every five troops surveyed said they did not know their voting assistance officer.


• A Pentagon agency charged with helping servicemembers and other Americans abroad vote is more than two months late in providing information for a report by the Election Assistance Commission on how states are doing and how they can improve. "I would like to have seen it out much earlier," says Paul DeGregorio, a member of the commission, which was created to help solve voting problems.

Studies show that military families are more likely to vote, and more likely to support Republicans, than others.

************************************


(my does this tell the story.why theres no rush)


But this year, military experts say long deployments, low morale and some disaffection with President Bush (news - web sites)'s foreign-policy decisions may erode the GOP's edge.


*******************


Any problems with military voting could have the greatest impact on battleground states such as Florida, Missouri and New Mexico, which have large military populations.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=6...

[Zhade]

22. If they fuck with GI votes, they'll reap the whirlwind.

Soldiers, whatever their politics, generally believe one thing: that they are fighting for the freedoms we enjoy.

Inaccurate as this may be (our freedoms are inherent, not a gift from the government or its military), it is seen as imperative by soldiers that Americans are allowed to exercise their rights.

Now imagine the scenario where those allegedly "fighting for our freedoms" in Iraq and Afghanistan are disenfranchised.

You want a military coup, b*shco? 'Cause if you play with fire, you're going to get burned. Bigtime.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

24. Hell, why 14 days? Why not a whole f*cking year?

How many elections has the military had to work this out? Not just the 2000 fiasco, but every election prior to that. If they haven't figured out a way to get the votes in on time, what makes them think they can do it with an additional two weeks? What happens then? Does the GOP start yelling that the Dems are keeping our heroes from voting because we won't agree to extend the deadline for another two weeks?

There are ways to make this work. For chrissake, we've got 90 days until the election -- send out a uniform absentee ballot for the federal positions (president, senator, representative) now and make sure every military member gets one and returns it to their commander. Set up a chain of custody, then stick the votes on a flight to the U.S., sort 'em out and get them to the vote-counters well before the deadline.

This isn't rocket science.

Let me see, so far we've had a suggestion to (a) postpone the elections, (b) cancel the elections, and (c) extend the election for two weeks. What next?

P.S., I've been in the military, so I appreciate what the military guys are going through. I also know that if some General puts his weight behind it, this absentee mess will be cleared up post-haste.

[Bowline]

25. Just as long as they're postmarked NLT election day.

According to the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution spells it out quite clearly: "The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States."

The GOP is worried that it will need all of the military votes this time around and want's to make sure it gets them.

[oneighty]

26. I have a problem with military voting.

Before the flaming begins I am a veteran. From seventeen until my twenty first birthday in the Navy I was unable to vote anyway.

After I was old enough to vote I notice the officers voting absentee, but seldom the enlisted, if ever.

I am concerned that veterans have an option of which state to claim as a "Home" for various tax reasons. Florida I understand is a good state for an active duty service man to claim as a "Home" state when in fact they have not lived there for years. Now I wonder do they vote there absentee AND in the place they happen to be living?

I know for a fact some New Yorkers with winter homes in Florida vote in both states, Florida and New York. Are some military doing that also?

I think for the sake of fairness active military should be required (if they vote) to register and vote in the state of their enlistment
and their votes should be post marked before the deadline and counted the same day as all other absentee ballots. There is a lot of room for hanky panky with absentee ballets as it is.

180

[NewYorkerfromMass]

29. Excellent point. I agree it should be absentee from declared "home"

very good point.

[shrdlu]

30. A solution without a problem...

I doubt if their are many U.S. troops these days so dumb that they can't vote successfully in the usual manner (If they really want to vote---a big if).

The risk here is some idiot like General Boykin ( my God is bigger than the enemy's God ) who thinks dubya was appointed by God will conduct voting exercises.

[tom_paine]

31. Sounds the like Busheviks are planning to stuff the ballots again

I am as surprised at learning that as I was when I learned Hitler didn't like Jews.

The room for mendacity and abuse is evident, as is the Bushevik penchant for resorting to malevolent abuse.