Troops voting at risk (Operation Truth)

[xray s]

http://optruth.com/main.cfm?actionId=blogShowExcerpts&blogId=14&year=2004&month=9&day=7&Action=ShowCalendar&lnav=7

Millions of Americans living abroad, including more than 160,000 American troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, face possible disenfranchisement due to a faulty voting procedure. For the upcoming November elections, troops will have the option in 2004 to vote via e-mail through a system known as the Electronic Transmission Service, which a New York Times editorial suggests has “far too many problems to make it reliable.”

Through this new system, which includes the option of e-mailing and faxing ballots to a private company in order to be forwarded to their local voting district, American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan could potentially waive their right to a secret ballot.

The Electronic Transmission Service is run by Omega Technologies, whose chief executive Patricia Williams donated $6,600 this election cycle to the Republican National Convention Committee and serves on the committee’s business advisory council. Both the Defense Department and Omega Technologies are withholding basic information about who will be managing this system, and how it will be done. With no facts available to the public about how these votes will be counted and transmitted, votes can easily be lost in transit or altered with little evidence of such malfeasance.

[roseBudd]

1. They are afraid troops will vote to come home

by voting for Kerry

[cheshire]

2. They have absentee voting still I would think. GOP stop at nothing

they are probably only allowed to watch Faux if at all.

[Green Lantern]

3. Back in '72

I voted by absentee ballot. Had to cast my ballot in front of the unit Executive Officer and have him review and authenticate it. Hardly a secret ballot. Especially since I voted for McGovern. Probably the only one on the base who did.