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Report: Quarter of Overseas Votes Uncounted
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Issue
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| Contributor | Jason |
| Last Edited | Jason May 14, 2009 03:24am |
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| Category | Report |
| Media | Newspaper - Wall Street Journal |
| News Date | Wednesday, May 13, 2009 01:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | WASHINGTON -- One out of every four ballots requested by military personnel and other Americans living overseas for the 2008 election may have gone uncounted, according to findings to be released at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, said the study, while providing only a snapshot of voting patterns, is enough to show that the balloting process for service members is clearly in need of an overhaul. The committee, working with the Congressional Research Service, surveyed election offices in seven states with high numbers of military personnel: California, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.
It said that of 441,000 absentee ballots requested by eligible voters living abroad, mainly active-duty or reserve troops, more than 98,000 were "lost" ballots that were mailed out but never received back by election officials. Adding another 13,500 ballots that were rejected, for reasons such as a missing signature or failure to notarize, a quarter of those requesting a ballot were disenfranchised. The study found that another 11,000 ballots were returned as undeliverable.
Sen. Schumer's office said that because a person living abroad must personally request the absentee ballot and show a clear intention to vote, voter negligence isn't thought to be a major factor. |
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