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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bonnuss_in_austin who wrote (274574)	7/13/2002 4:27:13 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 769670

Actually, bia...it started in November 2000: Message 14736269 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4 2000 ---------- ELECTION 2000 Military missing absentee ballots Some Army, Navy personnel unable to vote for new commander in chief -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jon E. Dougherty © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com Members of the military who are currently stationed overseas have complained that the Pentagon has not yet sent out absentee ballots this year, meaning they will not get to vote for a new commander in chief on Tuesday. Specifically, members of U.S. Navy units who are stationed overseas and aboard the USS Cole -- the destroyer recently attacked by terrorists while it was undergoing refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen -- have either not received ballots or won't get them in time because of current deployment circumstances, Pentagon officials said yesterday. "I've heard about this within the past week," said Lt. Dave Guy, a spokesman for the Army. "We are trying to get more information. We don't know if they were delayed through the mail." He added that due to current deployment considerations, some military members overseas likely would not get their ballots in time. "The support team for the USS Cole may not get their ballots due to intermittent mail," Guy said. "Some ballots could very well be delayed for a number of reasons." A Maine resident -- who asked not to be identified -- said her Navy daughter who is stationed in Tokyo has received her absentee ballot for every election except this one. "No one at the base will be voting because all the absentee ballots are missing," she told WorldNetDaily. Navy officials were also contacted but did not return phone calls. Critics have suggested that the Clinton administration may have purposely delayed sending absentee ballots to military personnel overseas because most, according to recent surveys, will vote Republican. The White House has denied those charges. According to Guy, officials with the Federal Voting Assistance Program -- which helps manage balloting for overseas service members -- "was not aware of any group non-delivery." Guy said depending on the home state of the member, ballots can be sent via Standard Form 136, which is a write-in ballot. States have different deadlines for such ballots, he added. Each ballot "is unit specific and handled individually," he said. Guy noted that "the military has a much higher participation [of overall voters] in the voting process" than does the general voting public. In the 1996 election, he said 64 percent of service members participated; 40 percent of those were absentee ballots. Twelve percent could not vote for various reasons, including because ballots were either sent late or otherwise not received on time. I've heard about this within the past week. We are trying to get more information. We don't know if they were delayed through the mail. -- Lt. Dave Guy, an Army spokesman, commenting on the failure of personnel to receive their absentee ballots The support team for the USS Cole may not get their ballots due to intermittent mail. -- Lt. Dave Guy No one at the base will be voting because all the absentee ballots are missing. -- A Maine woman, commenting on the base in Japan where her daughter is stationed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Direct corrections and technical inquiries to webmaster@worldnetdaily.com Please direct news submissions to news@worldnetdaily.com