Posted on 01/06/2009 11:12:20 AM PST by FocusNexus
Many U.S. troops serving overseas are effectively excluded from voting because they are not given enough time to cast absentee ballots, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Sixteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia do not send out their absentee ballots early enough to allow those serving in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan to fill them out and return them before their voting deadline, the Pew Center on the States found.
Another six states force soldiers, sailors and marines to return their ballots by fax or e-mail to meet the deadline, risking the privacy and security of their vote.
And another three states only give service members five days to fill out their ballots, the study found.
Overall, 25 states -- including large states like New York, California and Texas -- make it difficult or impossible for those risking their lives for democracy to participate in it, the study found.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Thank God that you have such a wonderful son and that he came through his service in the combat zone unharmed.
I understand and agree that soldiers also need to take responsibility to do everything they can, to get and return their absentee ballots. And it sounds like you live in a small town, where there is one person you can go to, if there are problems.
But in many/most cases the soldier is NOT the problem. I suggest you read the entire article. I’ve read anecdotal horror stories, but this was a study conducted by Pew research and found that in half the states there are significant problems with the delays. If states don’t send out the absentee ballots early enough, there is no way to get it back in time.
States should make it easy for soldiers to vote, not harder.
Your point is acknowledged. I would also add that the military, as a matter of policy, should take a more active role in seeing that its soldiers vote. Because of its perceived need to be apolitical it has always been ambivalent about involving itself in any part of the political process.
However, the MSM would glom on to this and make it appear that the military is using the process to intimidate soldiers into voting for candidates who support the military’s various agendas.
The world can be a complex place.
Gosh, this comes as a huge surprise.
Gee, which party do you think benefited from this little mistake? Hmmmmm.
Thanks for posting. Happy New Year!
Every unit in the Army company sized and above has a voting officer whose job it is to see that any soldier who needs help voting gets that help. Or at least they did when I was in.
You are, of course, correct. But my previous comments still stand. These people tend to be reactive rather than proactive. In other words unless someone comes to them for help they are prone to inertia.
You are, of course, correct. But my previous comments still stand. Duties, such as voting officer, are “extra” tasks assigned to junior officers whose primary duties may include platoon leader and motor or commo officers. Their primary focus is on getting the jobs done for which they are rated. Hence, these people tend to be reactive rather than proactive. In other words unless someone comes to them for help they are prone to inertia. Furthermore, because there is no method (let alone requirement) for measuring how successful they are at getting their soldiers to vote there is no “command” interest in what they do.
Pretty much like civilians.
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