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Source: Palladium Times
New York State Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Thursday a bipartisan effort to create federal legislation that ensures U.S. military troops stationed overseas would have their absentee ballots counted in upcoming elections.
The push for the legislation comes after a May study released by the U.S. Senate Rules Committee, which found that as many as 25 percent of troops stationed outside the United States did not have their votes counted in the 2008 election.
“It’s unacceptable that those serving our nation in uniform receive their ballots so late or encounter other snafus that prevent their votes from being counted,” Schumer said. “It’s time to remove the barriers that have stood in their way. If we can deliver supplies and high-tech equipment to the front lines of combat, we can figure out how to get our troops a ballot so they can vote.”
The proposed bill, called the Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment (MOVE) Act, would fix several of the flaws responsible for so many troop ballots going uncounted, according to Schumer. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, and Ben Nelson, D-NE, are also pushing for the legislation.
In 2008, military personnel and some civilians from the United States requested 441,000 ballots to vote from overseas locations. Of those, 98,633 ballots were never received by election officials, and were declared “lost” ballots, according to the Senate Rules Committee. Another 13,504 were received, but rejected for various reasons, including a missing signature or failure to notarize, which is required in some states.
According to Schumer, some of the problems impeding the current absentee ballot system include difficulties in registering to vote from overseas, not receiving ballots early enough and obstacles with returning ballots in time to be counted.
MOVE, which is scheduled to go before the Rules Committee Wednesday to gain support before hitting the Senate floor July 20, contains several provisions for creating a more effective system of counting overseas ballots. According to senators, the provisions include:
• A guarantee that military and overseas ballots will be counted if sent by Election Day
• Ensuring that states send ballots a minimum of 45 days before the election so military and overseas voters will receive them in time
• Improving awareness and use of a failsafe ballot that voters can use if their ballots are lost in the mail
• Prohibiting states from rejecting a marked absentee ballot solely on the basis of a missing notary signature, paper size and other restrictions
• Giving more resources to the Department of Defense Voting Assistance Offices, which provide voting information and support to service men and women and their families
• Establishing standards for record-keeping on military and overseas voting statistics
• And encouraging greater enforcement of the military and overseas voting statutes.
“We owe it to our men and women in uniform to create a well-functioning system that allows them to exercise their right to vote,” Nelson said. “This bill is based, in large part, on state and legislative recommendations that the Department of Defense has been pushing for years.”
MOVE will be added as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill, which will be brought to the Senate floor next week, according to Schumer’s communications director, Max Young. “The goal here is to have it pass by August and then have it implemented by the 2010 election,” he said.
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