Posted on 11/02/2006 4:39:30 PM PST by SkyPilot
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A New Jersey congressman raised questions Thursday about a new military voting program that lets service members request and submit their ballots by fax or e-mail.
The Defense Department, however, said the program is as secure as possible, and any risks are detailed for the military members when they access the e-mail system.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Democratic Rep. Rush Holt said the electronic registration and voting service is well-intentioned, but could expose troops to identity theft, or allow hackers or others to tamper with the ballots when they are in transit.
"After the Defense Department was stopped from implementing a program like this two years ago because it was full of security holes, I'm angry and astonished that they're doing it again without review, scrutiny, and oversight," said Holt.
He said that while U.S. military personnel should participate in the political process, "no one is served by introducing possibilities for error, insecurity, and fraud."
Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the Defense Department has set up a secure absentee voter program that will allow military members to request and receive absentee ballots. The new program, she said, lets people vote without relying on the regular mail system.
As part of the program, many states allow military members deployed overseas to return their completed ballot via fax or the Internet. Those ballots, Smith said, will not pass through the hands of any government officials until they are received by a local election authority.
"The e-mail-to-fax operation does have risks, but we have taken every precaution to limit those risks," said Smith. She said U.S. service members have been told of the potential privacy concerns with the system, so they can make an informed choice about whether to use the program.
Yeah, right! That is what he is concerned with.
These RATS never cease in making me puke.
The drumbeat begins ...
The only thing surprising about this is that it isn't attributed to John Kerry.
Thanks
Why does this Dem wait until 5 days before the election to question this latest military voting system? He wouldn't be trying to shut it down or to scare military members into not voting? No democrats won't do that...they support the troops!
ping
Anyone have a link to statistics that reveal the
percentage of military vote for Republican versus Democrat?
Could it be that the military vote exposes some Dems to being voted out of office? Nah, that couldn't be it.
I noticed, I spelled "suppressed" wrong too - sorry.
I don't, but I'd be stunned if it was less than 70/30.
In other words, the military ballots are under the care of military personnel and systems and not reachable by DemocRAT moles in the U.S. Postal Service. That is the real concern of the DemocRATS, I'd wager.
This guy is a Congressman, right???
Well..it isn't too late to vote his butt out of the House.
In 2000, Clinton didn't mail the ballots to the military until it was too late to get them returned. Sacks of unopened ballots were just being loaded on to ships AFTER the election was over. He apologized for the " clerical error."
The Dems should welcome this since the military has more minority members than the actual population- at least more than the 12% of blacks in the general population. That means they could get more democratic voters than otherwise....well, not if count all the dead voters....and pets....and multiple registrations... Yeah, I guess it is a good idea for them to suppress our votes.
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