U.S. Aims to Smooth Absentee Voting by Troops

[UpInArms]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5326607

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon, joined by the U.S. Postal Service, is taking steps to make it quicker and more reliable for U.S. troops overseas to cast absentee ballots, after scrapping a plan to let them vote over the Internet, officials said on Wednesday.

The Defense Department and the Postal Service pledged to improve their coordination, and make letters carrying paper absentee ballots a higher priority ahead of the Nov. 2 presidential election.

"Simply put, it's a low-tech solution," Paul Vogel, a Postal Service vice president, told a Pentagon briefing.

Pentagon official Charles Abell said that steps being taken included a redesign of the ballot envelope to guard against confusion over when troops cast a ballot, designed to meet local absentee voting deadlines.

The Pentagon's Military Postal System will ensure each completed ballot gets a proper, legible postmark when it is mailed and gets priority transportation back into the U.S. Postal Service system after being mailed in far-off locales like Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said.

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[HawkerHurricane]

1. Bushco will regret this...

if he's expecting the usual 90% Republican results from absentee military votes... he'll be lucky to get 40% this time.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Unless military Kerry voters

get reassigned to more dangerous posts.

[BiggJawn]

3. They'll "smooth" it alright....

"Hey, Sarge! this fucker's already marked for Bush and Cheney...WTF???"

"Hey, I want you to getchurself a nice big cuppa shut-the-fuck-up and SIGN that summbitch and no more bitching about it being already marked. Do you READ ME?????"

[JayS]

5. Sir! Yes Sir! :) n/t

n/t

[othermeans]

4. Did this go into effect before they put that stop loss into effect? nt

[maggrwaggr]

6. low-tech solution: dumping them into the ocean

you really think they're gonna let the military vote?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!

[Eye and Monkey]

7. Just bring them home and let them vote locally.

Before more die because of you, Junior.

[IndianaGreen]

8. All those stop loss orders will get many votes... against Bush

Keeping troops from retirement, despite the fact that many of them have already pulled duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, is not the way to win military votes.

Bush is toast!