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May 28, 2007 at 07:15:01

"The Soldier Vote" - A Memorial Day Tribute

by Michael Collins     Page 3 of 3 page(s)

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The More Things Change, the Harder it is for Soldiers to Vote

We live in an era of vastly superior technology. Information moves faster, more precisely, and continuously. Transpiration times have been greatly reduced. Yet American soldiers throughout the world lack the assurance that they will be given the fullest opportunities to vote. Richard Wolf of USAToday noted recently:

Six years after problems counting overseas votes clouded the 2000 presidential election, U.S. troops and other Americans abroad face tight timetables and emerging technologies that still make it difficult to have their votes counted. USAToday 09/26/2006

The issues are well known. They’ve come up in Korea and Viet Nam. There are 50 sets of state regulations dealing with absentee ballots and overseas Americans. Even if there is every good intention to facilitate the vote, soldiers in combat and support roles can’t worry about needless details or the politically motivated regulations.

The solution was presented over 60 years ago. The elegance and simplicity are unassailable: soldiers would only have to fill out the ballot and it would be returned to the appropriate secretary of state to be counted.


Photograph: Daniel Love/US Army via pingnews.
Treating Shrapnel Wounds, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, April 10, 2007

When we ask soldiers to go to places like Helmand Province, Afghanistan to risk their lives, we have an obligation of the highest order: make sure that they’re able to take part in the democratic process that ultimately determines their role and fate in the U.S. military.

Fixing the military vote by invoking the simple concept suggested by the War Ballot Commission in 1943 would be a fitting Memorial Day appreciation for the service and sacrifice offered: when a soldier shows up to vote, give him or her a ballot, then send it off to the soldier’s state with orders to count it in the appropriate election.

*** ENDS ***

*The Soldier Vote is a headline from Time Magazine, 23 October 1944.

Permission to reprint is granted given a link to this article in “Scoop” Independent News and attribution of authorship.

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http://electionfraudnews.com

Michael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.

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3 comments

The author lives in a small village in central Europe and has been active in the local workers movement for nearly 3 decades.

Globalism knows no borders, why should we ?
Tony ForestThe author lives in a small village in central Europe and has been active in the local workers movement for nearly 3 decades.

Globalism knows no borders, why should we ?

A great gift

and an even greater piece of the democratic puzzle ...but I have one question that I would like to ask ;

do you really believe the absentee ballots are opened AND counted ?

 

by Tony Forest (6 articles, 15 quicklinks, 155 diaries, 1358 comments) on Monday, May 28, 2007 at 2:50:25 PM
 

Michael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.
Michael CollinsMichael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.

Thank you. On your question, skepticism remains.

Soldier ballots are lumped in with the other absentee ballots. In that scenario, they have as much a chance to be counted as the other absentees  if they arrive before election day. However, if they arrive after the initial vote count, they could be counted or treated as provisionals are treated, e.g., they may or may not get counted.

Ultimately, we have no way of knowing about vote counting because it is often done in secret with no outside monitoring and rarely any true auditing. Secret vote couting is nearly universal given the presence of voting machines across the country and the tremendous difficulty associated with checking machine security.

In the counting process, all citizens share the risks. In the case of access to electoins, simply casting a ballot, the access is much more difficult for soldiers and their dependants.

It's unfortunate but anything is believable when you look at that figure of 30 thousand votes counted in the 1942 election; 30 thousand out of 11 million military personnel.

This shouldn't be hard problems to solve if Congress and the White House made it a priority.

by Michael Collins (97 articles, 16 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 345 comments) on Monday, May 28, 2007 at 6:28:51 PM
 

Michael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.
Michael CollinsMichael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.

Thank you OpEdNews & JoanB for featuring this tribute.

Soldier voting has clearly expanded the franchise for all of us by insisting on their fundamental rights as citizens and human beings..

by Michael Collins (97 articles, 16 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 345 comments) on Monday, May 28, 2007 at 11:42:14 PM
 

 

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