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Servicemember Voting Laws Reflect Changes
American Forces Press Service ^ | Jim Garamone

Posted on 12/31/2009 3:44:38 PM PST by SandRat

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2009 – Laws have changed and servicemembers who want to vote need to be aware of these changes, the director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program said.

Generally, military personnel who want to vote are a higher percentage than that in the general population. Still, there can be roadblocks to exercising the franchise.

Overseas-deployed servicemembers may find that “the absentee ballot doesn’t get to them on time, so they can vote it and send it back to the election official so it can be counted,” Bob Carey explained during an interview yesterday.

In the general population about nine out of every 10 absentee ballots are successfully cast, the director said. “Only about six or seven out of every 10 military ballots are successfully returned,” he said.

The biggest problems, Carey said, involves the nature of overseas duty and delays in the military postal system.

Carey’s organization is working to expedite the voting process for military members. On the postal side, officials are looking at ensuring that all military ballots take seven days or less in transit. Imagine an express-mail service for military voters, Carey said.

The power of the Internet also is being harnessed. Military voters can go to www.fvap.gov for almost one-stop shopping. A servicemember can go online and find the necessary voting forms and fill them out right there.

“Down the line we will also have an online ballot system where they can receive the ballot online, fill it out online and chose their candidates online,” Carey said. “They will still have to print it out and sign it, but it would end the wait of getting the ballots.”

Deployed servicemembers -- at combat outposts and aboard ships -- are the most affected by voting issues. Many military voters also are younger and aren’t aware of the processes behind voting, Carey noted.

“We’re trying to make it easy,” he said, “so they don’t have to know chapter and verse of election law in order to participate in the process.”

One of the bigger changes in the process is that military voters must send in a federal postcard application – again available at www.fvap.gov -- as soon as possible.

“The law has changed and even if they have been getting their absentee ballot automatically they have to register each and every year,” Carey pointed out.

Servicemembers also must submit a postcard application each time they move, each time they deploy and each time they redeploy.

“We’re encouraging everyone by Jan. 15 to send in a new federal postcard application,” Carey said. Local election officials, he said, are more than happy to deliver balloting materials, but they have to know where to send them.

Related Sites:
Federal Voting Assistance Program


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: election; laws; military; voting

1 posted on 12/31/2009 3:44:40 PM PST by SandRat
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To: SandRat
Among the first things that President Palin and her staff should propose early in her presidency is a new Military Voting Rights law, that includes:

a) All military personnel will have the opportunity to vote, regardless of where stationed and battlefield circumstances
b) Military voting will be completed before civilian voting begins
c) All military votes will be counted first, and counted completely, and
d) The lowliest grunt, in the most far off and isolated foxhole, will be given the privilege of casting the first vote.

2 posted on 12/31/2009 3:55:39 PM PST by frankenMonkey ("Natural Born Citizen" - US Constitution, 1787; "Words have meaning" - Barack Obama, 2009)
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To: SandRat

Maybe records should start being kept of the voting rate by units, that would create a get out the vote effort by commandeers.


3 posted on 12/31/2009 4:01:53 PM PST by ansel12 (anti SoCon. Earl Warren's court 1953-1969, libertarian hero, anti social conservative loser.)
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To: SandRat
Didn't Bill Clinton order emergency suprise exercises in 2000 on election day to keep troops off the base and unable to vote?

-PJ

4 posted on 12/31/2009 4:07:20 PM PST by Political Junkie Too ("Comprehensive" reform bills only end up as incomprehensible messes.)
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To: frankenMonkey
I would add,

e) Ballots will be delivered under armed military guard to each State AG who will then sign an accountable receipt for the number of ballots delivered and the armed guard will not depart until the number of ballots delivered equals the total number of ballots delivered. Failure to have the ballots counted to the total number of ballots delivered will result in immediate Military arrest and prosecution under Federal Law for will disenfranchisement of the military voter. Punishment shall be; 1)removal from office, 2) a fine of $100,000 per ballot not counted payable to the ballot submitter, 30 5 years confinement in Fort Leavenworth per ballot not counted, and loss of the offenders voting rights as a Felony conviction.

5 posted on 12/31/2009 4:07:23 PM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: ansel12
Maybe records should start being kept of the voting rate by units, that would create a get out the vote effort by commandeers.

That sounds like an excellent idea.

6 posted on 12/31/2009 4:13:14 PM PST by PAR35
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To: SandRat

Democrats = Military vote suppression.


7 posted on 12/31/2009 4:29:43 PM PST by OrangeHoof ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Bend over suckahs".)
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