Military Prevented From Voting In Virginia

Cross posted from Tanker Brothers.

And the insanity continues. When I found this - on A Soldier's Perspective here, and From My Position....here, I almost couldn't believe it. But both those sites are active duty soldiers, so you KNOW they have it right. Read what they say, and then do what NEEDS to be done, NOW!:

Military Prevented From Voting In Virginia

October 22nd, 2008 by CJ
The Fairfax County Registrar—and possibly other Registrars in Virginia—is rejecting most Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots (FWAB) cast by our men and women in uniform.

The FWAB is a federally mandated write-in ballot that allows military servicemembers and their dependents to cast an absentee ballot when they have not received a ballot before the election. It is a safety net that allows a servicemember to vote even if the mail truck hasn't reached his or her remote base in Iraq or Afghanistan in time to cast a regular absentee ballot.

Why is the Fairfax Registrar rejecting these ballots? The Registrar states that the witness who signs the envelope containing the FWAB must include his or her address—but most of the ballots don't include the witness' address.

Virginia law does not require a witness address for any other type of absentee ballot. So, for example, a Virginia resident attending college out of state does not need to include her witness' address on her absentee ballot envelope. But the Fairfax County Registrar is holding servicemembers, including those currently defending their country in war zones, to a much more exacting standard, requiring the witnesses who sign their FWABs to include their address.

To make matters worse, the Federal form (SF-186A) that is used for the FWAB does not have a space for witnesses to include their address. And the Department of Defense's official Voting Assistance Guide, which it provides to servicemembers as an instruction manual for casting votes while overseas, does not tell servicemembers that they must include an address for their witness. The servicemember would thus have no way of knowing of this requirement.

Federal law does not allow this type of disparate treatment of servicemembers. The Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff-2, requires states to process FWABs "in the manner provided by law for absentee ballots in the State involved." (emphasis added). In other words, the FWAB must be treated like any other absentee ballot under state law and may not be subject to more restrictive requirements. Yet that is precisely what is being done here.

Express your feelings to the state directly:
Virginia State Board of Elections
Suite 101, 200 North 9th Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-3485
Telephone: 804 864-8901 Toll Free: 800 552-9745 FAX: 804 371-0194


GO! NOW! This cannot stand. Thank you.

***UPDATE*** 

Whether it was from all the phone calls received or some other factor, this report from Knee Deep in The Hooah indicates a reversal of sorts;
Update on Military Absentee Ballot Issues in VA

Are You Voting For obama To Be Validated?

By Wanda Fay, Sunday, October 12, 2008.
Cross posted from her blog News and Prayer.

For people who don't know why they are voting for obama, I know why. You are voting for obama because it makes you "feel" validated. There's something about obama that makes you feel like he is like you. What is it? Is it his blackness? Is it where he came from? The south side of Chicago? Is it that he was raised by a single mom? You can relate? Is it because before knowing who he was as a man running for the President of the United States you didn't know who he was, where he came from, and what he did or did not do? Can you relate to that? You're a "nobody" and now a person who was a "nobody" is running for President and you kind of feel like you're the one running? All of these things, one or more,  make you "FEEL" good about YOURSELF. This is exactly why you are voting for obama.

You would'nt be voting for him because he did anything of substantial value because he didn't. You wouldn't be voting for him because he was a great politician, a great Congressman, because he wasn't. He has been a Senator for less than four months. What has he done? A "community organizer "like Jesus"- what an insult to the Son of the Living God. You wouldn't be voting for him for what he can do for our country because we really don't know what he is about and what he has planned of substance EXCEPT for the twisted plans he says he has for our country.

So now! YOU! Average American Joe Blow is voting for barack obama for the very wrong reasons. Think again before you vote for a man we know nothing about except for the corrupt friends he has hung around with.

God hold you accountable for how you vote. And this is one that really counts.

Thank you for listening and reading. And God bless America! God bless our troops.

Cornyn Introduces Bill At Camp Mabry To Ensure Every Military Vote Is Counted

AUSTIN—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today visited Camp Mabry to announce new legislation to protect the voting rights of our troops serving abroad by ensuring their absentee ballots are delivered back home in time to be counted. Sen. Cornyn was joined by Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson, Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Major General Jose Mayorga, 36th Infantry Division Commander, and representatives from several Texas veterans’ organizations. 

“America was built on the values of democracy, fairness and freedom. It is unacceptable that many of the men and women serving to defend those values are being denied one of our nation’s most basic and cherished rights,” Sen. Cornyn said. “The Military Voting Protection Act (MVP) would take several steps to significantly improve the process of delivering military absentee ballots to ensure every vote matters. Our servicemen and women deserve nothing less as they sacrifice daily to protect our safety, security and freedoms.” 

Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a retired U.S. Marine Lt. Colonel, said: "I commend Senator Cornyn for making sure our fighting men and women overseas - such as my own son - are entitled to enjoy the very same rights they serve to protect. Our soldiers deserve no less." 

Sec. of State Phil Wilson said: “As the chief elections officer for the state of Texas, it is important to me that we make every effort to protect the voting rights of the men and women who are risking their lives on foreign soil to preserve the liberties and freedoms we enjoy in the United States. I look forward to working with Sen. Cornyn in his efforts to ensure the secure transmission of ballots to and from our troops overseas.” 

Texas Adjutant General Charles Rodriguez said: "The proposed legislation is very welcome. More soldier cast-ballots will count. Our military servicemembers deserve every assistance in helping them to exercise their right to vote, a right they sacrifice for every day in service to our country. Sen. Cornyn’s legislative initiative will help reduce the time mail-in ballots from our soldiers take to transit back stateside to local election authorities." 

Background: 

The 2004 and 2006 elections revealed that our troops overseas continue to face substantial obstacles to their participation in elections back home. A recent report from the Election Assistance Commission suggested that out of the 992,034 military and overseas absentee ballots requested for the 2006 election, over 660,000 never reached election officials to be counted. Of the ballots that did reach election officials, many were rejected for various reasons, including 10 percent of those having been received too late to be counted. 

The MVP Act attempts to reduce delays and red tape in the absentee voting system currently in place for our overseas troops, who have little control over their geographic assignments. The bill would provide for express shipping of completed absentee ballots, allowing tracking of these ballots while in transit. The purpose of the bill is to ensure that the ballots of these troops overseas are delivered to the appropriate state election officials by the jurisdiction’s statutory deadline, while safeguarding voter privacy and ballot secrecy. Sen. Cornyn’s bill is the Senate companion to H.R. 5673, which was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 1 by Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R-CA-22]. 

In addition, the MVP Act urges the Secretary of Defense, given advances in modern technology, to study additional ways to improve our military voters’ ability to vote.