Fears of Military Absentee Ballots Not Being Counted Rise
From Ballotpedia
November 2, 2008- Nov 02, 2008 Alabama attorney general announces election fraud hotline
- Nov 02, 2008 Ohio Absentee Ballot Fraud Investigated in Miami County
- Nov 02, 2008 California DA to Investigate Absentee Voter Fraud Probe
- Nov 02, 2008 California GOP wants investigation of voting by mentally disabled
- Oct 31, 2008 Congestion at the voter registration office in South Carolina
- Oct 31, 2008 GOP challenges voting rule in Dona Ana County
- Oct 31, 2008 Fairfax County registrar caught up in absentee ballot controversy
NPR All Things Considered-Fears of military absentee ballots not being counted are increasing as stories of problems over the delivery and counting of absentee ballots across the nation increase.[1]
Troops Being Sent Wrong Ballots from Puerto Rico, Not their Home States
Voting experts are expecting a huge wave of military absentee ballots this year, as 184,000 troops are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan .[1]
Teresa Purcell got a call from her husband nine days before Election Day. "You're not going to believe this," Purcell said, "we're not going to be allowed to vote for president of the United States because we're not getting the ballots." Purcell told his wife his troops got ballots, but that they were the wrong ones as Purcell said 'They gave us the ballots for the local Puerto Rico election,'" Teresa recalls.[1]
This phone call coming a half of a world away on the eve of the U.S. election illustrates the many glitches in military voting.
Texas Senator Calls the Current System Seriously Flawed
US Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said: "You would think if anybody's vote ought to count first, it would be those who are deployed defending our freedom and fighting for our country."[1]
Cornyn sponsored a bill in the US Senate to deal with some of the glitches in the military absentee voting system. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, but the House didn't take it up in time for this election. "There shouldn't be this many opportunities for failure along the way," Cornyn says[1].
Voting overseas continues to face challenges as the system is still largely bases on paper ballots.
"The absentee voting system was built around the idea we're going to be sending ballots around the corner — not around the world," says Bob Carey, senior fellow at the National Defense Committee. The committee works to protect voting rights for people in the military. Carey is also on the board of the Overseas Vote Foundation, a nonpartisan group that uses technology to make military voting easier.[1]
 |
|
|
