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Author Topic: Supressing the Military Vote?  (Read 2281 times)
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WhiskeyGirl
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« on: October 01, 2012, 05:13:58 AM »

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FREDERICKSBURG — A 92 percent drop in absentee-ballot requests by military personnel in Virginia is raising concerns that the Pentagon is failing to carry out a federal voting law.

With only 1,746 military voters in Virginia requesting absentee ballots so far this year — out of 126,251 service members in the state —the Military Voter Protection Project says the system has broken down.

How is it that the Obama admin isn't making voting for legals a priority?

Why is it that we can't have national voter ID?  The private sector, even smaller companies are moving away from electronic time clocks and employee ID to finger prints to manage time recording and security, and voting still remains on the 'honesty system?

Quote
Robert Alt, director of the rule of law program at the conservative Heritage Foundation, calls the situation “a national disgrace.”

He pointed to a 2011 study of 24 states alleging that a paltry 4.6 percent of military absentee ballots that were requested and returned were actually counted in 2010.

“The military is one of the most underrepresented groups in the country. It doesn’t seem like correcting this problem has been a priority for this administration,” Alt said.


read more here - http://watchdog.org/55187/va-military-absentee-ballots-going-awol-in-2012/
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2012, 05:35:43 AM »

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Every vote counts. Some elections have even proven that votes from dead people count too – which has led to ways to improve the process as well as continued exploration into ways to ensure that not EVERY vote counts but rather “every U.S. citizen that is alive – that person’s vote counts.” Unless you’re stationed overseas.

In the 20th century, and even the first few years of the 21st century, if you were stationed overseas the practical nature of getting an absentee ballot was – well, not practical; and even if you did get your ballot, the chances of your vote actually arriving on time and counting was a bit better than a “slim chance.”

Quote
The Pentagon estimates it could cost $15 million to $20 million a year to create all the offices required by the law.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/militarywire/2012/09/12/overseas-military-vote-compromised-by-budget-cuts/

Hmmm...$500 million to Egypt in emergency aid?  Suppression of the military vote due to lack of funding?

Where are the priorities?  Who's making the list?
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MuffyBee
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« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2012, 08:13:55 AM »

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Every vote counts. Some elections have even proven that votes from dead people count too – which has led to ways to improve the process as well as continued exploration into ways to ensure that not EVERY vote counts but rather “every U.S. citizen that is alive – that person’s vote counts.” Unless you’re stationed overseas.

In the 20th century, and even the first few years of the 21st century, if you were stationed overseas the practical nature of getting an absentee ballot was – well, not practical; and even if you did get your ballot, the chances of your vote actually arriving on time and counting was a bit better than a “slim chance.”

Quote
The Pentagon estimates it could cost $15 million to $20 million a year to create all the offices required by the law.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/militarywire/2012/09/12/overseas-military-vote-compromised-by-budget-cuts/

Hmmm...$500 million to Egypt in emergency aid?  Suppression of the military vote due to lack of funding?

Where are the priorities?  Who's making the list?

Congress.
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MuffyBee
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« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2012, 08:21:35 AM »

To clarify my above post. ^^^  I think we voters (and those that don't  but still opine) need to look at our Congress. (The House of Representatives and the Senate). 
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klaasend
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« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2012, 09:24:38 AM »

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-07/fact-check-obama-ohio-military-voting/56859922/1

Fact check: Obama not trying to curb military early voting

By Lori Robertson, FactCheck.org
Updated 8/7/2012 6:02 PM

Mitt Romney wrongly suggests the Obama campaign is trying to "undermine" the voting rights of military members through a lawsuit filed in Ohio. The suit seeks to block state legislation that limited early voting times for nonmilitary members; it doesn't seek to impose restrictions on service members.

In an Aug. 4 Facebook posting, Romney called the lawsuit an "outrage," and said that "if I'm entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I'll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them." He painted the court filing as an attack on the ability of service men and women to vote: "The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote."

Conservative blogs and opinion pieces have also misrepresented the case, claiming in headlines that President Obama was suing to "restrict military voting." A fundraising email appeal from a group called Special Operations Speaks — which wants to "remove Barack Obama from the White House" — wrongly says that Obama "deploys army of lawyers to suppress military's voting rights," claiming that "Obama needs the American military to not vote, so he has set out to make it as difficult as possible for them to do so." But that's not what the Obama lawsuit aims to do at all.

 ::snipping2::
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2012, 03:09:09 PM »

Do words matter?  What of actions?

What are the facts?  Real numbers?

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In the pivotal swing state of Ohio, roughly 9,700 absentee ballots had been requested by military and overseas voters as of Sept. 22, compared with well over 32,000 in 2008 total ballots cast for those groups. In Virginia, another swing state with a significant military presence, the nearly 12,300 military and overseas ballots requested so far are something less than 30 percent of the more than 41,700 absentee military and overseas cast four years ago.

Quote
But while these offices were dutifully set up at many installations, early numbers suggest they are ineffective, and a recent Inspector General investigation found that representatives in those offices are, up to half the time, unreachable or unresponsive.

Of 229 installation voting assistance offices officials tried to contact by telephone, or email, more than 49 percent could not be reached at all. Furthermore, surveys conducted by the Defense department after the 2010 election, which showed the offices were effective in helping troops to vote, were found to be misleading because the surveys had a low response rate and respondents were largely self-selecting.

What effect does it have when the light is on and nobody is on duty?

Quote
It seems to me that the DoD made sure that they got the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell surveys (determining the effects of a repeal) to every member of the military, to every spouse, to everybody that they were supposed to,” he said. “But when it comes to military voting, it seems that we’re not able to get the absentee ballots to our soldiers…it seems to me that there’s a different standard there when it comes to voting versus a survey that the DoD or the administration actually wanted a response to.”

read more here - http://www.humanevents.com/2012/09/27/is-the-obama-administration-suppressing-the-military-vote/

I find it odd that fact checkers do not include facts! 
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2012, 03:19:28 PM »

Maybe folks could send an email? 

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Overall, 90 percent of absentee ballots sent to American civilians living abroad are returned and counted. For military personnel, the number is two thirds. Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-Calif.) chair of the House Administration Committee thinks the states and the Justice Department ought to do better.

The Army Times reports that part of the solution could be e-mail.

Florida allows overseas absentee ballots to be returned by fax, but not e-mail. Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren D-CA says e-mail is not secure, citing the successful hacking in a test of a proposed Washington D.C. online voting system.

WOW.  Imagine a successful hacking of the test system!  Only in America.

read more here - http://www.humanevents.com/2012/07/20/roger-hedgecock-suppressing-the-military-vote/

I wonder who the hackers of the test system were?  Maybe online voting?  I wonder who the poll waters are for online system in use by the military today?

Where are the checks and balances?
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klaasend
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« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2012, 05:05:46 PM »

I find it very telling that the GOP dismisses the fact checkers 
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2012, 08:14:11 PM »

I find it very telling that the GOP dismisses the fact checkers 

I don't know about the GOP, I think the fact checkers should provide facts, not just opinion.

Is it really about what Obama's admin says?  What they accomplish?  The story they tell?  Or the reality of those that live in the real world?

How can they say they've implemented something and are doing a great job when folks call or visit and nobody is manning the facility?  Lights on and nobody home?

Are 'fact checkers' unbiased?  Some have suggested the popular fact checkers have an obvious bias and do not relate the facts.
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2012, 08:16:54 PM »

How would it be received if in a large city, folks went to the early voting place only to find out that ballots were only available for folks from certain wards or districts?  The hours were posted, it was daylight, and nobody was their to help them?

The city workers said "we're complying"?
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
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