Marine murders in Afghanistan underscore abhorrent ROE

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TriGirl

***An Overseas Vote Foundation survey found that nearly a quarter of military and overseas-civilian voters never even received their requested absentee ballots for the 2008 presidential election. Another 10 percent got their ballots less than seven days before the election — too late to return them.

Untrue (the bold part). Election results are not certified until weeks after the election. Absentee ballots are counted as they are received until the results are certified. However, since so few miliary personnel are voting in each district, the chances that those absentee ballots received after the general election would change the outcome of the election are all but non-existent.

(Note: while service as a voting assistance officer, I saw the timeline of when absentee ballots are counted, which is why I remember this. However, I cannot locate right now a link to this information. Statistical comments about absentee voters in each district are my own observation) According to this, large numbers of military personnel did not get absentee ballots: ballots.http://ivn.us/2012/10/25/military-voters-disenfranchised-record-low-2012-turnout/ The drop in military voter ballot requests happened despite the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (or MOVE Act), which Congress passed in 2009 following the 2008 election’s low military voter turnout. The law created a program called the Federal Voting Assistance Program, tasked with creating voting assistance services for active duty military members serving at overseas military installations.
But the FVAP hasn’t set up a single military voter assistance office at a number of military installations overseas according to findings in an August DOD Inspector General report. Part of the problem is a bureaucratic tangle of funding hurdles, but US News and World Report published an article this month reporting that part of the problem is resistance from the Department of Defense itself.
The Pentagon’s failure to implement the 2009 act of Congress will likely leave thousands of military voters disenfranchised in the 2012 election. Some Republicans are charging the Obama Administration with active voter suppression of military voters, who tend to lean Republican. Strong turnout among military voters overseas could make all the difference in swing states where the poll numbers are close. Over the weekend, The Hill reported:
“However, congressional Republicans have hammered the Pentagon for not following through on the requirements outlined in the 2009 legislation, leaving thousands of military personnel unable to cast their vote.
The military vote tends to sway Republican, and with recent polls showing President Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a virtual dead heat, strong voter turnout by American service members could be the difference between a second term for Obama or a Romney White House.”
In response to the military voter disenfranchisement controversy, US Senator John Cornyn (TX) said in a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta:
“The price of DoD’s failure to follow the law will likely be paid this November by military service members and their families, whose voting rights were to have been safeguarded by this provision.”

There are states that purposefully send ballots late to the troops overseas. Alabama was sued by the US DOJ for being late, but NY and Illinois have the worst rep, and apparently don't get sued. http://www.gop.gov/policy-news/10/10/20/dont-disenfranchise-u-sSeveral states have not complied with transmitting ballots by the September 18, 2010, deadline, and one state, New York, failed to meet a later deadline after being granted a waiver. The DOJ failed to ensure compliance. Furthermore, DOJ appears to have accepted vague and misleading assertions of compliance from states including New York and Illinois.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[jakee 1,596]

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According to this, large numbers of military personnel did not get absentee ballots: ballots.http://ivn.us/...rd-low-2012-turnout/ The drop in military voter ballot requests happened despite the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (or MOVE Act), which Congress passed in 2009 following the 2008 election’s low military voter turnout.

So again, even if this is a problem, it's a problem that was created by a Republican President who did nothing about it for the two elections that he oversaw. So how do you figure that it was Evil Overlord Obama that engineered the situation?

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The military vote tends to sway Republican, and with recent polls showing President Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a virtual dead heat, strong voter turnout by American service members could be the difference between a second term for Obama or a Romney White House.”

But now we know that wasn't the case.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?