Charley, while I have not heard any statistical breakdown on the reasons why overseas absentees were disqualified, my guess is that a large percentage of them were disqualified because of failing to meet the general statute that governs absentee ballots, not the postmark/signature & date provision of the Sec. of State regulation that applies more specifically to overseas ballot. Under that statute, in order for ANY absentee ballot to be counted, it must be signed, the canvassing board must ensure that the signature matches the signauture on file, it must contain the last four digits of the social security number of the elector, and it must be notarized or contain the signature, printed name, address, voter identification number, and county of registration of one attesting witness, who is a registered voter in the state.
These rigorous standards were not imposed by some Democratic operative, but rather by the Republican Legislature due to concerns about fraud in absentee voting.
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