Military missing absentee ballots
Some Army, Navy personnel unable to vote for new commander in chief
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By Jon E. Dougherty
� 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
Members of the military who are currently stationed overseas have complained
that the Pentagon has not yet sent out absentee ballots this year, meaning
they will not get to vote for a new commander in chief on Tuesday.
Specifically, members of U.S. Navy units who are stationed overseas and
aboard the USS Cole -- the destroyer recently attacked by terrorists while
it was undergoing refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen -- have either not
received ballots or won't get them in time because of current deployment
circumstances, Pentagon officials said yesterday.
"I've heard about this within the past week," said Lt. Dave Guy, a spokesman
for the Army. "We are trying to get more information. We don't know if they
were delayed through the mail."
He added that due to current deployment considerations, some military
members overseas likely would not get their ballots in time.
"The support team for the USS Cole may not get their ballots due to
intermittent mail," Guy said. "Some ballots could very well be delayed for a
number of reasons."
A Maine resident -- who asked not to be identified -- said her Navy daughter
who is stationed in Tokyo has received her absentee ballot for every
election except this one.
"No one at the base will be voting because all the absentee ballots are
missing," she told WorldNetDaily.
Navy officials were also contacted but did not return phone calls.
Critics have suggested that the Clinton administration may have purposely
delayed sending absentee ballots to military personnel overseas because
most, according to recent surveys, will vote Republican. The White House has
denied those charges.
According to Guy, officials with the Federal Voting Assistance Program --
which helps manage balloting for overseas service members -- "was not aware
of any group non-delivery."
Guy said depending on the home state of the member, ballots can be sent via
Standard Form 136, which is a write-in ballot. States have different
deadlines for such ballots, he added.
Each ballot "is unit specific and handled individually," he said.
Guy noted that "the military has a much higher participation [of overall
voters] in the voting process" than does the general voting public. In the
1996 election, he said 64 percent of service members participated; 40
percent of those were absentee ballots. Twelve percent could not vote for
various reasons, including because ballots were either sent late or
otherwise not received on time.
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