1/3 of overseas voters screwed out of the opportunity
The Stars & Stripes reports that nearly a third of voters overseas were screwed out of their votes;
According to a new survey by the Overseas Vote Foundation, about 18 percent of voters living abroad never received their absentee ballot, and nearly 13 percent did not receive the forms in time to successfully vote in the mid-term election.
But the foundation called that encouraging.
Well, it would be encouraging if your only looking at year-over-year improvement, but not if you’re hoping for the law to be enforced. “Good enough for government work” is an outdated platitude. Hpw ’bout government workers just do their damn jobs for a change.
Category: Military issues
I never, in the years that I lived overseas, in both allied countries and warzones, ever failed to get a ballot in on time. On the other hand every single person I knew whose ballots were late sat on their hands about voting or waited until the last minute. I’d almost guarantee that 90%+ of those cited in this statistic are at the very least partially at fault. It’s a responsibility to make sure your vote gets counted and if you don’t take it seriously why should anyone else?
NSOM, this is more about soldiers recieving their ballots in the first place, can’t turn it in if you don’t recieve it to begin with, or don’t recieve it in time to turn it in.
In Illinois in the last election, it was acknowledged by the Justice Deparment as well as the Illinois state government that the ballots were delayed in being sent out to the troops and other folks overseas long enough that they wouldn’t have been able to get them filled out and returned soon enough to count in the election. Yet, the Justice Department has done nothing about this except shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, well.”
Many of us in Illinois were outraged over this as it is actually state law to get the ballots out at a certain time in order for the overseas votes to be cast. The government violated their own law and nobody has done a damn thing about it! I honestly believe that it cost Bill Brady, our Republican gubernatorial candidate, the election because it was so close.
Jacobite,
I know. My point is that if you’re on top of it 99 times out of a 100 it will get it. For months prior to every election I ever participated in while I was overseas my chain of command was harping on absentee ballots months ahead of time. If you’re responding to that prompt and urging you’re chain of command to make it happen it will. I’m unaware of any service member who was ever, despite early and earnest effort, unable to get in a ballot on time.
> In Illinois in the last election, it was acknowledged by the Justice Deparment as well as the Illinois state government that the ballots were delayed in being sent out to the troops
Bingo, and that is why my husband’s vote from Afghanistan probably didn’t get counted. It had nothing to do with him getting his ballot in on time.
>I’m unaware of any service member who was ever, despite early and earnest effort, unable to get in a ballot on time…
Well now you know some…About every servicemember who was overseas and had to deal with Illinois.. In fact, Illinois didn’t care, but they did walk ballots over to the Cook County jail, so they could vote on time..