counted first. No way to contest, disallow or challenge. FIRST.
If I could, I'd say count those ones twice.
I know we can't, but if anyone's vote counts more than John/Jane Q.
Public's, its John/Jane Q. Soldier's
On Nov 5, 1:42 pm, dick thompson <rhomp2...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> If the Republicans allow this one to slip by then they have only
> themselves to blame when the next election the military still does not
> get to vote because of the actions of the local election boards and the
> states.
>
> The Scandal of Military Voter Disenfranchisement
> We can't depend on the Justice Department to see to it that the states
> comply with the law regarding absentee ballots being shipped in a timely
> manner to military personnel overseas.
> November 4, 2010 - by Captain Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
>
> Share |
>
> In a speech to the House of Commons on August 20, 1940, Prime Minister
> Winston Churchill said:
>
> The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed
> throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to
> the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant
> challenge of mortal danger, are turning the tide of world war by their
> prowess and their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so
> much owed by so many to so few.
>
> These eloquent words about the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain
> could apply equally to the men and women of the United States Armed
> Forces today. The entire U.S. military establishment, including the
> National Guard and Reserve, amounts to less than three-fourths of 1
> percent of the U.S. population. It is these few who, by their prowess
> and their devotion, have protected all Americans from a repeat of the
> horrors of September 11, 2001.
>
> What do these few ask of our country in exchange for their valiant
> service? They have every right to ask, and indeed to demand, that they
> be given the opportunity to cast ballots in elections that get counted.
> In a 1952 letter to Congress, President Harry S. Truman wrote:
>
> About 2,500,000 men and women in the Armed Forces are of voting age at
> the present time. Many of those in uniform are serving overseas, or in
> parts of the country distant from their homes. They are unable to
> return to their States either to register or to vote. Yet these men and
> women, who are serving their country and in many cases risking their
> lives, deserve above all others to exercise the right to vote in this
> election year. At a time when these young people are defending our
> country and its free institutions, the least we at home can do is to
> make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to
> fight to preserve.
>
> President Truman's letter is included in a 1952 report of the
> Subcommittee on Elections, Committee on House Administration, U.S. House
> of Representatives, concerning voting rights for military personnel
> fighting the Korean War. The Honorable C.G. Hall, secretary of state of
> Arkansas and president of the National Association of Secretaries of
> State, testified that military personnel in Korea and elsewhere were
> likely to be disenfranchised because late primaries, ballot access
> lawsuits, and other problems made it impossible for local election
> officials (LEOs) to print and mail absentee ballots until just a few
> days before Election Day.
>
> In his 1952 letter, President Truman called upon the states to fix this
> problem, and he called upon Congress to enact temporary federal
> legislation for the 1952 presidential election. He wrote,
>
> Any such legislation by Congress should be temporary, since it should be
> possible to make all the necessary changes in State laws before the
> congressional elections of 1954.
>
> Well, it did not work out that way. The Korean War ground to an
> inconclusive halt in 1952, the issue dropped off our national radar
> screen, and the states did not fix the problem. Finally, in 2009,
> Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE
> Act). This new law requires every state to mail out absentee ballots to
> military personnel and family members by the 45th day before Election
> Day (e.g., September 18, 2010). Several sstates with late primaries
> applied for and received waivers for 2010, and agreed to extend the
> deadline for the return of ballots mailed in from overseas.
>
> In Illinois, the problem was not a late primary. Indeed, Illinois held
> its 2010 primary on February 2, 2010. But 35 of 110 Illinois counties
> seriously missed the September 18 deadline. One of the late counties
> was St. Clair County, home to 261,000 people and to Scott Air Force Base.
>
> The U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing the MOVE
> Act, but it seems not to take its responsibilities seriously --- perhaps
> because military personnel vote overwhelmingly Republican when they do
> have the opportunity to vote.
>
> DoJ entered into a consent decree with Illinois that does not solve the
> problem. In those counties that were seriously late in sending out
> ballots, the consent decree extends by only one day (from November 1 to
> November 2) the deadline for the postmark of the marked ballot coming
> back to the local election official. If Sergeant Smith in Afghanistan
> receives his ballot on November 3, he cannot cast a ballot that will get
> counted.
>
> Congress should amend the MOVE Act to clarify that individual military
> voters have a private right of action to enforce the 45-day rule. We
> cannot depend upon DOJ to enforce this law in good faith. DOJ, under
> present management, will paper over MOVE Act violations for the same
> reason that it condoned voter intimidation by the New Black Panther
> Party in Philadelphia in 2008.
>
> Congress should also clarify that military personnel and family members
> overseas have the right to vote in state and local elections as well as
> federal elections, and that any violation of the 45-day rule must be
> remedied by a court order extending both the deadline for the postmark
> of the marked ballot and the deadline for its receipt.
>
> It is a national scandal that we as a nation are still conducting
> absentee voting in much the same way that it was conducted during the
> Korean War --- by shipping pieces of paper across oceans and continents
> by snail mail. In our Armed Forces, classified information is
> transmitted and received every day by secure electronic means. In
> commerce, billions of dollars change hands electronically every business
> day. If electronic means are secure enough for our nation's most
> important secrets and for huge sums of money, why is it not possible, in
> 2010, for deployed service members to vote by a secure means that will
> guarantee that their ballots are counted?
>
> Captain Wright retired after a career as a judge advocate in the Navy
> and Navy Reserve. He has been working the military voting issue since 1976.
>
> Podcasts
> Subscribe
> PJM Home
> If you liked this article, please consider signing up for PJM daily digest.
>
> Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following
> guidelines:
>
> 1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a
> necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
>
> 2. Stay on topic.
>
> 3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
>
> 4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
>
> 5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
>
> These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible
> situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with
> or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to
> filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our
> discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial
> staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was
> filtered inappropriately, please email us atst...@pajamasmedia.com
> <mailto:st...@pajamasmedia.com>.
>
> 15 Comments, 14 Threads
>
> 1. Ken
> How about an amendment to the MOVE Act, so that military members who
> don't get their absentee ballots on time are allowed to skip paying
> state and local income taxes for the year?
>
> November 4, 2010 - 5:17 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> canuck
> Good idea but two flaws. Some states have no income taxes and the period
> should extend through the term of whomever is on the ballot. Six years
> for Senate and four for President or Governor. Include federal taxes and
> this will be an incentive to get votes to them.
>
> November 5, 2010 - 3:07 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 2. justasimplepatriot
> Sign on Marine Barracks outside of Baghdad:
>
> "America is not at war, We are at war. America is at the Mall."
>
> How do you think this vote travesty impacts our troops.
>
> Raise Hell, America.
>
> November 4, 2010 - 6:07 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 3. Anonymous
> I do not see why the military just doesn't conduct it's own election
> right where they are stationed and then add the vote to the state totals.
> It is a national disgrace that illegal aliens have their vote more
> protected than our military members.
>
> November 4, 2010 - 6:08 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 4. Jon Nedved
> On Tuesday evening, as I was preparing to vote, I noted with pride that
> my daughter (registered in the same precinct) had already voted.
> Immediately above my name on the list of registered voters was the name
> of my youngest son, who is a Marine currently deployed on a Navy ship. I
> was saddened to see that he had not voted, and then realized that it was
> nearly impossible to get/receive mail from him, which is understandable
> given his location. Why can't we, as a country, make it easy for those
> who put their lives on the line defending us to cast a ballot? Why is it
> easier to come here from a foreign country and obtain social services
> than it is for our troops to vote? Shame on us!
>
> November 4, 2010 - 6:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 5. Steve S
> I suspect that the Justice Dept will have plenty of explaining to do
> with the new Congress. If any of the issues see the light of day is the
> problem.
>
> November 4, 2010 - 7:34 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 6. Andy Gump (formerly Oscar the Grump)
> The disenfranchisement of our military personnel smacks of Stalinist era
> leadership. Its against the law right now to ask an individual for
> identification or proof of citizenship. Where as, our military is
> intentionally left out on purpose. Now that we have a Republican
> Congress, its first job should be to guarantee the military the right to
> vote. It should also call for the use of identification at each voting
> precinct and/or proof of citizenship. Without such guarantees we are
> only setting ourselves up to have the 2012 election hijacked. If we
> press the point via Congress and the Bill is rejected by the Senate or
> the President, it will prove our point.
>
> November 4, 2010 - 9:00 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 7. ITYS
> This is an absolute outrage and has been reported in the media for at
> least 3weeks, yet no resolution. Its disgusting, the calculated
> incompetence and disenfranchisement was purposeful b/c they know the
> military overwhelmingly goes R. No ballots to those who put their lives
> on the line for this country, but votes were taken personally to the
> convicts in IL. Since when do the convicts get to vote????? Did nay
> reporter ever ask Obama about this failure???? He's supposed to be the
> commander-in-chief and he would actually have garnered some respect had
> he acted to rectify this problem.
>
> November 4, 2010 - 9:43 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
> 8. Anonymous
> Left/liberals love illegal aliens and piss on our military.
>
> November 5, 2010 - 12:13 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 9. Mark Matis
> And yet again, "Law Enforcement" is the Great Enabler for this. Be sure
> to thank them appropriately for the OUTSTANDING job they have done.
>
> November 5, 2010 - 4:48 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 10. Eric Jablow
> Perhaps disenfranchised soldiers could bring a lawsuit demanding that
> Illinois and other states forfeit some of their representation in
> Congress, according to section 2 of the 14th Amendment:
>
> "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according
> to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in
> each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at
> any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President
> of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and
> Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof,
> is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one
> years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way
> abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the
> basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which
> the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male
> citizens twenty-one years of age in such State."
>
> November 5, 2010 - 5:08 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 11. Claudia
> We certainly can complain about the DOJ not doing their job, but we
> conservatives didn't do much to make sure this outrage from the 2000
> election was remedied and we did have the majority to accomplish it.
> That said, it does not fall on deaf ears that the Dems seems to be those
> most prone to disenfranchise the public with scores of groups who's aim
> is to commit voter fraud in every way possible, Acorn is a great
> example. What is it about liberals that honor seems to be something they
> don't recognize or understand?
>
> November 5, 2010 - 5:46 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 12. kjatexas
> Why is it that no one seems to ever go to jail for the kind of voter
> fraud we see on a regular basis.
>
> November 5, 2010 - 8:01 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 13. Bill Lawrence
> What must not be forgotten is that this year's disenfranchisement of the
> military was in VIOLATION of the law. We need criminal penalties for
> officials fail to get military ballots out as per the deadline.
>
> November 5, 2010 - 8:25 am Link to this Comment | Reply
> 14. Joseph Rush Wills, II
> The disenfranchisement of military personnel is only part of a larger
> problem of election fraud. Unfortunately, Americans accept voter fraud
> and in many cases wink at it. But election fraud is the theft of
> democracy and attacks the very core of Representative government and the
> Consent of the Governed in our Declaration of Independence.
> Those failing to mail ballots to our brave men and women on the front
> lines well knew how our defenders would vote; that's why they were cheated.
> Commenter Bill Lawrence suggested criminal penalties for officials who
> fail to get military ballots out on time; I agree, but make those
> penalties, and all penalties for voter fraud severe. Not a few months in
> a minimum security "white collar" penitentury, knowing they'll be "taken
> care of" when they gey out, but long years at hard labor at some remote
> prison camp.
> The new Congress needs to address this corruption...and take steps to
> ensure that those who attempt to "rig" elections in any way get the
> punishment they deserve.
> God Bless our military!
>
> November 5, 2010 - 9:45 am Link to this Comment | Reply
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment