WTF Military Ballots

[Jokerswild]

How come they can't get our military ballots counted? I would think that the ones defending our way of life should be the first ballots counted if anything.

Thousands of military absentee ballots would once again go uncounted

[Panda Man]

Now I'm pissed. Why the hell are they making this so hard for the people fighting and dieing for our freedom? Just give them a form, have them put down their name/state/military ID/etc. etc., who they vote for and send it off to be counted for in that state.

[Hitman]

This is why for the last 2 presidential elections I have gone to my home state to vote. It's a problem and it's always been a problem. This is one system that is broken. Every state has different regulations regarding absentee ballots, and every state treats them differently. I think they should have voting stations at Major Military Bases overseas that start taking votes from military members a week or two in advance. This will give ample time to get the ballots to the home states. Another option might be to have electronic voting stations, so military members can vote on a computer and their votes are sent directly to their state to be counted. There are several options, but something needs to be done.

[screwballl]

Agreed, that was part of the problem here in FL... at first Gore said that any other military/absentee ballots found after the initial count would have to be dismissed (which was a very dumb thing to do and illegal) because he knew that a majority of the military/absentee counts would go for GW. Just the fact of him trying to pull something like this when state law provides an additional 2 weeks for those ballots to be added to the final tally and if needed can sway the vote if it is close enough, is just asinine to be allowed to even say that.

[Quakindude]

I've done the same as Hitman.

Now though, the Army has a Common Access Card with a chip on it. It's our ID cards. You plug that ID card into the card reader and the computer reads the security certificates embedded on it, you enter your PIN and you've logged onto the computer. You can send encrypted emails and files this way and also digitally sign documents.

Hopefully, the military will implement voting via ID cards here soon.

[fstroupe]

There is no excuse for a three week wait for mail to leave the Middle East. If the wait is between the soldier and the APO/FPO, the fault lies on the military, and they all have been there enough to have a reasonable mail system in place. If you feed a soldier every day, you can get his mail.

There is no reason whatsoever in Iraq for mail to take more than a few days to get from any soldier to the APO. Now, I'll allow a little longer for Afghanistan, but more than a week there would be rediculous, except for maybe special ops types on extended missions in the mountains.

If it is more than a 24-hour turnaround for mail to leave the APO or FPO, and another 24 hours in the AE...and I don't care how much mail they handle...the USPS needs a swift kick in the ass. Once mail hits the APO or FPO, it shouldn't take more than a week to get to the addressee.

And the notary deal is a non-issue, at least for the army...EVERY S-1 is a Notary Public. And the S-1 is ultimately responsible for his unit's mail.

Guys, I don't know what the problem is here. Soldiers from both sides in our Civil War got to vote. Our technology has progressed at least a little beyond that time. Well...maybe not the USMC.....

[Hitman]

I have had an APO address in 5 different countries, and have never had normal mail (letters, and regular sized packages) mailed either 1st class or Priority take more then 7-10 days. The only except was in Iraq at the beginning, when the mail system still wasn't in place. After the first couple of months I was receiving mail with in 7-10 days. If a soldier elects to use the absentee ballot, they need to do it early, and that it's filled out correctly to ensure it will be processed in time, thats really all the soldier can do.

I like Tom's Idea with the CAC, hell we use it for everything why not use it to vote. With using your CAC you could go on to a DOD website, go to your state and district and vote right there online. Thats actually a more secure way then an absentee ballot.

[Reloadron]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

I've done the same as Hitman.

Now though, the Army has a Common Access Card with a chip on it. It's our ID cards. You plug that ID card into the card reader and the computer reads the security certificates embedded on it, you enter your PIN and you've logged onto the computer. You can send encrypted emails and files this way and also digitally sign documents.

Hopefully, the military will implement voting via ID cards here soon.

Wow things have come a long way. Tom, I have to wonder why with 500,000 active duty military using absentee ballots something like this has not been implimentated? Even if we discount the online thing, I can see where Dibold in conjunction with someone like Oracle could develop a system based on the new ID cards.

There obviously has to be a better way then the mailing of a shitload of paper. A simple paperless system of casting a ballot made available to absentee voters can't be all that difficult.

Ron

[Hitman]

Sadly though I don't think this problem is much of a concern to the Military. They have a system in place and I think they think that it's good enough. Every unit has a Voting Assistants Officer. This is just a job that someone is appointed to do and most of the time they don't have any formal training. They are supposed to help soldiers apply for absentee ballots, and register to vote. More times then not the soldiers don't even know who that person is in their unit. Everyone kinda just has the attitude if the soldier wants to vote they will figure it out. Then the soldier either has to rely on the broken absentee ballot system or go to their home state to vote. Something needs to be done, but I don't think enough of the right people care, or the right person hasn't been made aware of the problem.

[fstroupe]

I think that an even bigger problem is that most polititians don't want to fix the election system, regardless of the rhetoric that spurts forth from their pieholes. It makes good press if they don't win.

When I was in, the presidential election was the 1988 election. (I was in basic during Regan's reelection, I don't remember it being mentioned, to be honest, but I had taken care of my absentee ballot before I left.) I do remember them making a deal out of it, but I have always been pretty independent and took care of it in plenty of time on my own. If a soldier wants to vote and make it count, he/she does need to take some initiative.