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Posted on 09/28/2001 6:36:05 PM PDT by Jean S

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. military personnel and Americans living overseas were more than four times as likely to have their ballots thrown out than were domestic civilian voters, according to a report by congressional investigators released Friday.

The General Accounting Office was asked to look into balloting by 2.7 million military members and their dependents and 3.9 million citizens living overseas after last fall's Florida recount in the presidential election revealed a myriad of voting problems.

The GAO estimated through a telephone survey of county officials nationwide that 8.1 percent of military and overseas ballots were thrown out in counties with less than 60,000 residents. Not enough large counties responded to make a national estimate, but investigators found a similar pattern among those that did.

By comparison, about 1.8 percent of ballots cast by civilians living in the United States were disqualified.

During the Florida recount that led to President Bush's victory, election officials rejected hundreds of ballots cast by military personnel living overseas, many because they lacked postmarks or signatures. Critics said it was unconscionable that the votes of people who serve their country were disqualified for such infractions.

"We must make every effort to ensure that military members have a meaningful opportunity to vote and that every properly cast ballot is counted," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., who was among several lawmakers who asked the GAO to investigate.

The GAO recommended that the State Department improve its oversight of its voting assistance program for citizens living overseas. It also recommended that the Defense Department provide more trained voting assistance officers at bases.

The report found some bases had officers who explained the absentee voting process to newcomers, held voter registration events and passed out voting materials as the deadline approached. But other bases did not have enough absentee ballots or a voting assistance officer, as required by the Defense Department. And some voting assistance officers were not aware of key department requirements for voting, even though they are supposed to be trained under department policy.

The Defense and State departments agreed with the overall findings of the report and noted they already have taken steps to improve their voting assistance programs.

Florida changed its law after the election so that postmarks no longer are required. Voters simply must write the date they filled out the ballot and include a witness' signature for verification.

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