Military votes should be taken before any official election dates, and counted first. No way to contest, disallow or challenge. FIRST.
If I could, I'd say count those ones twice. I know we can't, but if anyone's vote counts more than John/Jane Q. Public's, its John/Jane Q. Soldier's On Nov 5, 1:42 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > If the Republicans allow this one to slip by then they have only > themselves to blame when the next election the military still does not > get to vote because of the actions of the local election boards and the > states. > > The Scandal of Military Voter Disenfranchisement > We can't depend on the Justice Department to see to it that the states > comply with the law regarding absentee ballots being shipped in a timely > manner to military personnel overseas. > November 4, 2010 - by Captain Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.) > > Share | > > In a speech to the House of Commons on August 20, 1940, Prime Minister > Winston Churchill said: > > The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed > throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to > the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant > challenge of mortal danger, are turning the tide of world war by their > prowess and their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so > much owed by so many to so few. > > These eloquent words about the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain > could apply equally to the men and women of the United States Armed > Forces today. The entire U.S. military establishment, including the > National Guard and Reserve, amounts to less than three-fourths of 1 > percent of the U.S. population. It is these few who, by their prowess > and their devotion, have protected all Americans from a repeat of the > horrors of September 11, 2001. > > What do these few ask of our country in exchange for their valiant > service? They have every right to ask, and indeed to demand, that they > be given the opportunity to cast ballots in elections that get counted. > In a 1952 letter to Congress, President Harry S. Truman wrote: > > About 2,500,000 men and women in the Armed Forces are of voting age at > the present time. Many of those in uniform are serving overseas, or in > parts of the country distant from their homes. They are unable to > return to their States either to register or to vote. Yet these men and > women, who are serving their country and in many cases risking their > lives, deserve above all others to exercise the right to vote in this > election year. At a time when these young people are defending our > country and its free institutions, the least we at home can do is to > make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to > fight to preserve. > > President Truman's letter is included in a 1952 report of the > Subcommittee on Elections, Committee on House Administration, U.S. House > of Representatives, concerning voting rights for military personnel > fighting the Korean War. The Honorable C.G. Hall, secretary of state of > Arkansas and president of the National Association of Secretaries of > State, testified that military personnel in Korea and elsewhere were > likely to be disenfranchised because late primaries, ballot access > lawsuits, and other problems made it impossible for local election > officials (LEOs) to print and mail absentee ballots until just a few > days before Election Day. > > In his 1952 letter, President Truman called upon the states to fix this > problem, and he called upon Congress to enact temporary federal > legislation for the 1952 presidential election. He wrote, > > Any such legislation by Congress should be temporary, since it should be > possible to make all the necessary changes in State laws before the > congressional elections of 1954. > > Well, it did not work out that way. The Korean War ground to an > inconclusive halt in 1952, the issue dropped off our national radar > screen, and the states did not fix the problem. Finally, in 2009, > Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE > Act). This new law requires every state to mail out absentee ballots to > military personnel and family members by the 45th day before Election > Day (e.g., September 18, 2010). Several sstates with late primaries > applied for and received waivers for 2010, and agreed to extend the > deadline for the return of ballots mailed in from overseas. > > In Illinois, the problem was not a late primary. Indeed, Illinois held > its 2010 primary on February 2, 2010. But 35 of 110 Illinois counties > seriously missed the September 18 deadline. One of the late counties > was St. Clair County, home to 261,000 people and to Scott Air Force Base. > > The U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing the MOVE > Act, but it seems not to take its responsibilities seriously --- perhaps > because military personnel vote overwhelmingly Republican when they do > have the opportunity to vote. > > DoJ entered into a consent decree with Illinois that does not solve the > problem. In those counties that were seriously late in sending out > ballots, the consent decree extends by only one day (from November 1 to > November 2) the deadline for the postmark of the marked ballot coming > back to the local election official. If Sergeant Smith in Afghanistan > receives his ballot on November 3, he cannot cast a ballot that will get > counted. > > Congress should amend the MOVE Act to clarify that individual military > voters have a private right of action to enforce the 45-day rule. We > cannot depend upon DOJ to enforce this law in good faith. DOJ, under > present management, will paper over MOVE Act violations for the same > reason that it condoned voter intimidation by the New Black Panther > Party in Philadelphia in 2008. > > Congress should also clarify that military personnel and family members > overseas have the right to vote in state and local elections as well as > federal elections, and that any violation of the 45-day rule must be > remedied by a court order extending both the deadline for the postmark > of the marked ballot and the deadline for its receipt. > > It is a national scandal that we as a nation are still conducting > absentee voting in much the same way that it was conducted during the > Korean War --- by shipping pieces of paper across oceans and continents > by snail mail. In our Armed Forces, classified information is > transmitted and received every day by secure electronic means. In > commerce, billions of dollars change hands electronically every business > day. If electronic means are secure enough for our nation's most > important secrets and for huge sums of money, why is it not possible, in > 2010, for deployed service members to vote by a secure means that will > guarantee that their ballots are counted? > > Captain Wright retired after a career as a judge advocate in the Navy > and Navy Reserve. He has been working the military voting issue since 1976. > > Podcasts > Subscribe > PJM Home > If you liked this article, please consider signing up for PJM daily digest. > > Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following > guidelines: > > 1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a > necessary quote or is relevant to the comment. > > 2. Stay on topic. > > 3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks. > > 4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement. > > 5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area. > > These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible > situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with > or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to > filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our > discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial > staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was > filtered inappropriately, please email us [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > > 15 Comments, 14 Threads > > 1. Ken > How about an amendment to the MOVE Act, so that military members who > don't get their absentee ballots on time are allowed to skip paying > state and local income taxes for the year? > > November 4, 2010 - 5:17 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > canuck > Good idea but two flaws. Some states have no income taxes and the period > should extend through the term of whomever is on the ballot. Six years > for Senate and four for President or Governor. Include federal taxes and > this will be an incentive to get votes to them. > > November 5, 2010 - 3:07 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 2. justasimplepatriot > Sign on Marine Barracks outside of Baghdad: > > "America is not at war, We are at war. America is at the Mall." > > How do you think this vote travesty impacts our troops. > > Raise Hell, America. > > November 4, 2010 - 6:07 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 3. Anonymous > I do not see why the military just doesn't conduct it's own election > right where they are stationed and then add the vote to the state totals. > It is a national disgrace that illegal aliens have their vote more > protected than our military members. > > November 4, 2010 - 6:08 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 4. Jon Nedved > On Tuesday evening, as I was preparing to vote, I noted with pride that > my daughter (registered in the same precinct) had already voted. > Immediately above my name on the list of registered voters was the name > of my youngest son, who is a Marine currently deployed on a Navy ship. I > was saddened to see that he had not voted, and then realized that it was > nearly impossible to get/receive mail from him, which is understandable > given his location. Why can't we, as a country, make it easy for those > who put their lives on the line defending us to cast a ballot? Why is it > easier to come here from a foreign country and obtain social services > than it is for our troops to vote? Shame on us! > > November 4, 2010 - 6:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 5. Steve S > I suspect that the Justice Dept will have plenty of explaining to do > with the new Congress. If any of the issues see the light of day is the > problem. > > November 4, 2010 - 7:34 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 6. Andy Gump (formerly Oscar the Grump) > The disenfranchisement of our military personnel smacks of Stalinist era > leadership. Its against the law right now to ask an individual for > identification or proof of citizenship. Where as, our military is > intentionally left out on purpose. Now that we have a Republican > Congress, its first job should be to guarantee the military the right to > vote. It should also call for the use of identification at each voting > precinct and/or proof of citizenship. Without such guarantees we are > only setting ourselves up to have the 2012 election hijacked. If we > press the point via Congress and the Bill is rejected by the Senate or > the President, it will prove our point. > > November 4, 2010 - 9:00 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 7. ITYS > This is an absolute outrage and has been reported in the media for at > least 3weeks, yet no resolution. Its disgusting, the calculated > incompetence and disenfranchisement was purposeful b/c they know the > military overwhelmingly goes R. No ballots to those who put their lives > on the line for this country, but votes were taken personally to the > convicts in IL. Since when do the convicts get to vote????? Did nay > reporter ever ask Obama about this failure???? He's supposed to be the > commander-in-chief and he would actually have garnered some respect had > he acted to rectify this problem. > > November 4, 2010 - 9:43 pm Link to this Comment | Reply > 8. Anonymous > Left/liberals love illegal aliens and piss on our military. > > November 5, 2010 - 12:13 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 9. Mark Matis > And yet again, "Law Enforcement" is the Great Enabler for this. Be sure > to thank them appropriately for the OUTSTANDING job they have done. > > November 5, 2010 - 4:48 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 10. Eric Jablow > Perhaps disenfranchised soldiers could bring a lawsuit demanding that > Illinois and other states forfeit some of their representation in > Congress, according to section 2 of the 14th Amendment: > > "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according > to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in > each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at > any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President > of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and > Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, > is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one > years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way > abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the > basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which > the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male > citizens twenty-one years of age in such State." > > November 5, 2010 - 5:08 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 11. Claudia > We certainly can complain about the DOJ not doing their job, but we > conservatives didn't do much to make sure this outrage from the 2000 > election was remedied and we did have the majority to accomplish it. > That said, it does not fall on deaf ears that the Dems seems to be those > most prone to disenfranchise the public with scores of groups who's aim > is to commit voter fraud in every way possible, Acorn is a great > example. What is it about liberals that honor seems to be something they > don't recognize or understand? > > November 5, 2010 - 5:46 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 12. kjatexas > Why is it that no one seems to ever go to jail for the kind of voter > fraud we see on a regular basis. > > November 5, 2010 - 8:01 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 13. Bill Lawrence > What must not be forgotten is that this year's disenfranchisement of the > military was in VIOLATION of the law. We need criminal penalties for > officials fail to get military ballots out as per the deadline. > > November 5, 2010 - 8:25 am Link to this Comment | Reply > 14. Joseph Rush Wills, II > The disenfranchisement of military personnel is only part of a larger > problem of election fraud. Unfortunately, Americans accept voter fraud > and in many cases wink at it. But election fraud is the theft of > democracy and attacks the very core of Representative government and the > Consent of the Governed in our Declaration of Independence. > Those failing to mail ballots to our brave men and women on the front > lines well knew how our defenders would vote; that's why they were cheated. > Commenter Bill Lawrence suggested criminal penalties for officials who > fail to get military ballots out on time; I agree, but make those > penalties, and all penalties for voter fraud severe. Not a few months in > a minimum security "white collar" penitentury, knowing they'll be "taken > care of" when they gey out, but long years at hard labor at some remote > prison camp. > The new Congress needs to address this corruption...and take steps to > ensure that those who attempt to "rig" elections in any way get the > punishment they deserve. > God Bless our military! > > November 5, 2010 - 9:45 am Link to this Comment | Reply -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
