-Caveat Lector-
Pentagon: No absentee ballot problems
By Larry Wheeler and David Tortorano
Staff Writers
Pensacola News Journal
11/16/2000
Pentagon officials have no evidence that overseas absentee voting
by U.S. military personnel or civilians has been delayed or
disrupted.
With the outcome of the presidential election apparently hinging
on ballots sent from Florida residents residing or stationed
abroad, lawmakers and others have turned their attention to this
usually low-profile subset of voters.
U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, R- Pensacola, requested that the
House Armed Services Committee investigate complaints from some
of his active-duty military constituents, who said they couldn't
obtain absentee ballots. With Congress in limbo, the panel has
yet to act on Scarborough's request.
Internet discussion groups and some online news services have
carried reports of missing bags of ballots. Yet little real
proof has been forthcoming.
``We're not aware of widespread or organized complaints
concerning individuals who couldn't get ballots through,'' said
Susan Hansen, a Pentagon public affairs official.
Responding to reports of delayed or missing ballots, Pentagon
spokesman Ken Bacon said he was informed that a few absentee
ballots were returned from Navy ships involved in the USS Cole
recovery operations.
``We're talking maybe a dozen,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Cate Mueller, a
Navy spokeswoman.
Once found, they were quickly moved along, she said.
The high stakes involving the count of overseas ballots in
Florida has put the military, which is prohibited from getting
involved in partisan politics, in an unusual position. The Navy
checked on some of its ships to ensure ballots were not still
lying in mailrooms or other locations when they should be en
route to county elections offices, where they must be tabulated
by midnight Friday.
``There's been some reporting that there's been 3,000 ballots
stuck out at sea. That's not true,'' Mueller said. ``Basically,
the great majority of military people who were going to vote have
done so.''
Beyond ``all this going on in Florida,'' the Navy has a strictly
nonpartisan stance on elections, Mueller said.
``It's not our business to be monitoring our people's voting
habits.''
She said the policy is reissued every election year so there's no
mistake about the prohibition against partisan politics. It goes
so far as to prohibit having a local politician on a base within
a campaign period.
But the Navy this year has been inundated with calls, primarily
in response to erroneous reports, she said. Most of the calls
concern ``things they've read that have been incorrect.''
The Navy is not the only organization getting calls from people
concerned about the election. Elected officials have received
calls, and so have election offices.
``We did have some concerns from voters,'' said Lynn Kowalchyk,
deputy supervisor of elections in Escambia County. She said the
number on Election Day was normal, but it was the day after that
was unusual.
``Normally after an election it's like a ghost town. But they
(the telephones) haven't stopped ringing. We get a lot of calls
about things that are in the news media, things about absentee
ballots, recounts.''
Many of those calls are not about this area, but about what's
going on elsewhere in the state. She said that's probably
because people simply want to speak to someone who knows about
elections.
``I've never seen it where you have so many people call and say,
I just want to make sure my vote counts,'' she said.
Military Q&A
Following are answers to some questions from News Journal readers
about voting by military personnel:
Q: How many overseas ballots are expected to be sent to Florida
from troops stationed overseas?
A: No one is completely sure, but there are 27,000 troops who
call Florida home, according to the Department of Defense's
Federal Voting Assistance Program.
In Escambia County, 1,802 ballots - 1,558 to military personnel -
were sent to people living overseas. In Santa Rosa County, the
total is 687. Santa Rosa does not have a separate tally for the
military.
Q: Have these overseas ballots been counted yet?
A: Some are in, but many are still on their way to election
offices.
Ballots received by 7 p.m. on Nov. 7 were counted that day, and
the totals were included in the overall vote tally. Those
arriving after that time will be checked and counted Friday
afternoon. The Escambia and Santa Rosa results will be available
that evening.
Q: Where do overseas troops send their ballots? Are they counted
or accounted for by the military?
A: As with all other voters, ballots cast by military personnel
are returned directly to the county in which they vote.
Q: Why weren't overseas ballots sent in by Nov. 7?
A: While other absentee ballots must arrive by Election Day, in
15 states, including Florida, those who are overseas have 10
additional days before their ballots have to arrive at the
supervisor of elections office in their home counties.
Q: Why does Florida allow this additional time?
A: In the early 1980s, the federal government asked some states
to give more time to overseas voters. Florida, which initially
had resisted, signed a consent decree after being threatened with
a lawsuit. The state agreed to give not only the 10-day
extension but also agreed to send ballots 45 days before the
election.
Q: How can troops in other areas legally cast Florida votes?
A: Personnel and their families can claim residency in any state
where they have been assigned or where they intend to live once
they leave the service.
``To claim a new legal residence, military personnel must have
simultaneous physical presence and the intent to reside at that
location as the primary residence,'' says Polli Brunelli,
director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
Most states require a physical presence for a minimum period of
time and proof of residency, such as a driver's license.
The legal residence can change every time a permanent duty
station is changed. Military personnel may vote in the state
where stationed if they change their legal residence to that
state.
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