Missouri to allow military absentee ballots by E-mail and fax

[Paul Walmsley <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is too surreal.  Ballots cast in this method will hardly be secret or
anonymous.  The potential for ballot interception, ballot modification,
and ballot box stuffing is extraordinary.  It's hard to think of a more
cynical way to disenfranchise military voters.


from the Missouri Secretary of State's office:

http://www.sos.mo.gov/news.asp?id=375


- Paul


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573) 751-4951

Blunt Announces New Voting Option for Missouri Military Personnel

JEFFERSON CITY - Secretary of State Matt Blunt today announced that 
Missourians serving in designated combat locations overseas will have the 
option of having their ballots scanned and e-mailed to the United States 
Department of Defense (USDoD) who will in turn fax them to the military 
voter's local election official.

In June, Blunt announced that Missouri voters serving in designated combat 
locations could fax their ballots directly to their local election 
officials if they wished. Blunt sought this change to state law in a 
comprehensive election reform bill he supported through the General 
Assembly in 2002. Missouri State Representative and Missouri National 
Guard Combat Engineer Jim Avery told Blunt's office that while few units 
overseas had access to fax machines, most had access to computer equipment 
that could scan a paper ballot and enable the soldier to e-mail it back to 
the United States.

Blunt sought clarification from the USDoD and was informed by leaders in 
the department that the ballots would be transmitted over secure military 
lines and faxed directly to Missouri's local election officials. Today's 
announcement comes one day after the secretary of state's office was 
supposed to certify the results of the Aug. 3 primary election. A lawsuit 
and restraining order filed and obtained by the leaders of the Missouri 
Democratic Party have placed certification of the election on hold. This 
action will likely delay the printing of ballots at the local level and 
their delivery to absentee voters.

Absentee balloting for the November election is scheduled to begin on 
Sept. 21, but the judge overseeing the lawsuit filed by the Missouri 
Democratic Party has yet to schedule a hearing. Party bosses are 
challenging the state's interpretation of the provisional balloting 
process, which has already been deemed compliant by both federal and state 
judges and does not conflict with the federal Help America Vote Act. The 
party has admitted that the approximately 827 provisional ballots in 
question will not affect the election results but moved forward with their 
request to prevent the August election from being certified knowing that 
thousands of military and other absentee voters could be impacted by their 
actions.

Blunt said he's hopeful that the judge will rule on the case soon so that 
military or other absentee ballots are not sacrificed to partisan 
political posturing. He also praised Senator Kit Bond's efforts to urge 
the DoD to step up its efforts to get the ballots in and out of hostile 
combat areas like Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I am pleased to offer this additional voting option to our men and women 
in uniform but I am troubled by the attempts to complicate this process by 
people who should be directing their time and resources on encouraging, 
not suppressing absentee voting," Blunt said. "I hope all of Missouri's 
local election officials will work diligently to respond as quickly as 
possible to absentee ballot requests made by all voters but particularly 
those who are defending our nation overseas. Simplifying the voting 
process for these heroes is the least we can do in honor of the sacrifices 
they are making in defense of our freedoms."

Despite some recent press reports to the contrary, the Missouri secretary 
of state's office does not print, distribute or count ballots of any kind. 
That responsibility rests solely with Missouri's 116 local election 
officials. Military servicemen and women still have the option of mailing 
their voted absentee ballots to their local election official themselves. 
Neither the faxed ballot option nor the e-mailed ballot to the DoD is 
mandated by law. They are merely options for the soldiers to consider.

Blunt is Missouri's chief election official. He previously served as an 
officer in the United States Navy and in addition to other 
responsibilities, he served as the Voting Officer on the USS JACK WILLIAMS 
(FFG-24). Thus, Blunt has special insight into the barriers to voting 
imposed on members of the military.

In October 2001, Blunt became the first statewide elected official in 
Missouri to be called into active military duty, serving six months in 
support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation's response to the 
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A list of the service areas designated by Blunt and a fax cover sheet for 
military service personnel interested in taking advantage of this option 
are available on Blunt's Internet site, www.sos.mo.gov or by calling the 
Elections Division of the secretary of state's office at 1-800-NOW-VOTE.

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