On the military vote..

[santahog]

There's a short video on this one that has a little blurb about half way through that just knocked me right off of my limb..
Lets see if it was just me or if somebody else catches it too..

http://www.kxxv.com/story/19699371/military-voting-issues-continue-to-mount

ABC affiliate somewhere around Waco.


Military voting issues continue to mount
Posted: Oct 01, 2012 11:09 PM CDT
 
By: Chris Cheng

A new report shows military ballot requests have fallen drastically in key battle ground states.

The Military Voter Protection Project (MVPP) said it saw a 92% drop in absentee-ballot requests by service members in the state of Virginia; compared to 2008.

Other swing states including Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, Alaska, and Nevada have also seen a decline of more than 50% in requests.

Senator John Cornyn has been outraged by the mounting issues tied to soldiers voting this November.

"DoD leaders must answer for this serious failure and do everything in their power to make this right for military voters and their family members," Senator Cornyn said.

Absentee ballot voting is crucial for soldiers, many of whom are stationed overseas or assigned to an installation that is not their home state.

MVPP estimates that two-thirds of military men and women will have to vote through absentee ballots but the research shows many are not requesting them.

The MVPP report comes on the heels of a report issued by the Pentagon's Inspector General indicating deficient on-base voter assistance for military service members and their families, mandated by the 2009 law, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, or MOVE Act.

"This is an unacceptable failure by Pentagon leaders to comply with the law and ensure our service members and their families are able to exercise one of the most fundamental rights for which they sacrifice every day,"

Senator Cornyn said.

The MOVE Act was passed by Congress and President Barack Obama, back in 2009, to ensure service members and their families stationed overseas had the access to vote.

To make matters worse, the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey told reporters that the military prefers a politically neutral stance when it comes to voting.

Senator Cornyn and others in the Senate were upset with the general's comments because they believed it may discourage soldiers from voting.

"Today we're learning our men and women in uniform may be even more disenfranchised than they were before sweeping reforms were signed into law two years ago to make it easier for them to exercise their right to vote," Senator Cornyn said.

[santahog]

Here's another one...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/2/obama-bogging-down-the-military-vote/


EDITORIAL: Obama bogging down the military vote
America’s warriors want Romney


No one has a greater claim to participate in the process of setting the nation’s direction than America’s warriors. They risk their lives to defend their countrymen, but they have received little regard at the ballot box in return. As the race between Democratic President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney remains too close to call, voters in uniform could have a decisive impact on the outcome. It’s clear Mr. Obama’s supporters don’t want that to happen.

The Military Voter Protection Project labels as “bleak” the prospects for Americans in uniform who use absentee ballots to have their voices heard. The organization, set up to help servicemen vote, surveyed ballot requests in various states and found applications were only 33 percent of the number requested in 2008. “While the number of absentee ballot requests will increase in the coming weeks, especially as the election draws near, the amount needed to meet 2008 levels is staggering,” said the group’s Aug. 31 report. Defense Department resistance to congressionally mandated voter assistance requirements is to blame.

Those in military life are often stationed far from home or overseas, which makes voting more difficult. In the 2008 presidential contest, only 20 percent of the 2.6 million military voters had their ballots counted. Many states were tardy sending out absentee ballots to servicemen, causing completed ballots to arrive after Election Day. Consequently, Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act in 2009, which mandated absentee ballots be sent to servicemen requesting them at least 45 days prior to Election Day. This year, that deadline expired on Sept. 22.

Another key provision of the law requires the Defense Department to open voter assistance offices on military bases to help personnel file their absentee ballot requests. However, a recent report from the Pentagon inspector general’s office said that many of the offices proved hard to contact or non-existent: “Results were clear. Our attempts to contact [Installation Voting Assistance Offices] failed about 50 percent of the time.” If soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have trouble getting voter assistance, it’s unsurprising that absentee ballot requests are lagging.

The Pentagon blamed the poor results on inspectors using outdated contact information, but for Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, this isn’t the real issue: “Today, many of the on-base voter assistance offices that do exist are grossly inadequate, and at least half of them are either closed or completely unstaffed,” he wrote in a Sept. 7 letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

It’s no secret that military personnel are displeased with Mr. Obama. While the latest Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll has Mr. Obama with a 3-point edge among the general public over GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Rasmussen poll in July showed military voters back Mr. Romney by a 24-point margin.

America’s warriors deserve a say in choosing their commander in chief. The administration shouldn’t drag its feet on implementing the overseas voting reform law simply to avoid the likely result.

The Washington Times

Read more: EDITORIAL: Obama bogging down the military vote - Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/2/obama-bogging-down-the-military-vote/#ixzz28IiatJZp

[jnevis]

While I haven't had to worry about an absentee ballot in a few years, my Inbox at work has been inundated by mail from DoD and DoN with instructions on how to get one and where, with plenty of links to go for State ballots too. 

While I do think they could do a better job of actually getting Service Members to vote, there is no shortage of ways for them to get ballots.  Most are just to apathetic to go through the motions.  At least in MD you don't have to physically go anywhere to get an absentee ballot, the request is online. I got th elink through the DoD voter assistance site in the amount of time it ook to write this.

[tombogan03884]

One major chronic problem is that some states, Illinois is a perpetual offender, send out the ballots to late for them to be returned in time to be counted.

[santahog]

Ever get the feeling that nobody's listening, or that nobody wants to hear it?
I get the feeling that this is the biggest part of the low participation rate, along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs putting out that Service Members should be without political opinion..
The latter kind reminds me of United Way. Ever offer to not participate in one of those? I have.. It's not well received.. (I don't do business with anybody affiliated with Planned Parenthood, if I'm aware..)
Top don't want to hear that, no how, no way..
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the same standards are applied here..

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Ever get the feeling that nobody's listening, or that nobody wants to hear it?
I get the feeling that this is the biggest part of the low participation rate, along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs putting out that Service Members should be without political opinion..
The latter kind reminds me of United Way. Ever offer to not participate in one of those? I have.. It's not well received.. (I don't do business with anybody affiliated with Planned Parenthood, if I'm aware..)
Top don't want to hear that, no how, no way..
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the same standards are applied here..

Ah yes, the old "Combined Federal campaign" When I was in you could stipulate any tax deductible organization so I always donated to NRA.

As for the military being politically neutral, it's like freedom of religion.
The religion clause of the 1st A was never intended to affect individuals, it was intended to prevent the Govt from subordinating themselves to any single religious organization, as had happened with the Catholic Church in Europe.
The TRADITION, of military non involvement in politics was to prevent "the Military" as an organization from influencing civilian govt.
However it violates the oath sworn by every service member to defend the Constitution from "all threats foreign and domestic" since action against a domestic threat would require direct intervention, in other words a coup, to remove said threat.
It has nothing to do with individual political expression by service members.
It is however justifiable to limit their expression to when they are out of uniform because what they say while in uniform has the appearance of being an "official" statement.

[jnevis]

I believe too that the CJCS's comments about not having an opinion are taken out of context.  There have been more than a few Service Members and Gov't employees reprimanded for actively participating in political rallies while in uniform or in an official capacity.  I think that is where that comment comes from, not that they can't have an opinion and excersize the right to vote.

[fightingquaker13]

I also think you're forgetting two things. If the low participation rate is judged against 2008? You're forgetting race. A large percentage of our armed forces are black. Colin Powell endorsed BO, and Condi all but endorsed him. They were dying to vote for the first black Pres. Now? They, like me, have serious buyers remorse, and (second point) they think Mitt is a douche bag too, so why bother? Its going to be problem for both parties in the general. Dems have lost faith in BO, and conservatives have never trusted Mitt, as two primary campaigns have proven. Turnout will drive this one, but its hard to get that when neither side likes the lizard they've nominated.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

I also think you're forgetting two things. If the low participation rate is judged against 2008? You're forgetting race. A large percentage of our armed forces are black. Colin Powell endorsed BO, and Condi all but endorsed him. They were dying to vote for the first black Pres. Now? They, like me, have serious buyers remorse, and (second point) they think Mitt is a douche bag too, so why bother? Its going to be problem for both parties in the general. Dems have lost faith in BO, and conservatives have never trusted Mitt, as two primary campaigns have proven. Turnout will drive this one, but its hard to get that when neither side likes the lizard they've nominated.
FQ13

FQ spouting typical liberal racist crap.
If you read the whole thread FQ you would have learned that real troops support Romney in huge numbers according to Santahogs post.