As election approaches, U.S. troops experience difficulties voting

[Rose Siding]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. service members based in Iraq and across the globe can't be confident that their votes will be counted in this year's presidential election, analysts and military advocates said this week.

Those warnings came despite a stepped-up Pentagon campaign - developed in response to the 2000 election, when as many as 30 percent of service members stationed overseas were unable to vote - to encourage troops to register and vote early.
........
More than the military, states and local jurisdictions are to blame for not getting their ballots to overseas soldiers. Late primary elections and legal challenges - many of them involving Ralph Nader's bid to get on ballots - have delayed printing and mailing absentee ballots in many jurisdictions.

There've been isolated reports of shortages of the federal replacement ballots, but Wright said they appeared to be reaching most soldiers who needed them.

"We have seen some improvement. Just how much is impossible to say. At this point everyone has their fingers crossed," said Derek Stewart, who in 2001 wrote a highly critical assessment of the military's overseas voting program for the Government Accountability Office.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9952111.htm

[Jacobin]

1. There's a surprise

NOT

[Seabiscuit]

6. The neo-cons don't dare allow active troops to vote.

95% of them want to kill Bush, et. al. They see him, not the Iraqi's, as the real enemy.

No wonder this is the latest GOP scam to rig the elections. They're afraid of their own troops!!!

[aquart]

2. Yup. George knows they hate his guts.

Bet we don't hear much talk about our sacred responsibility to the soldier's ballot this year.

[Red State Rebel]

3. Did you miss the poll last week that said 85 per cent were for Chimp?

The more of these that get lost in the mail the happier I'll be. If these people don't have enough sense to not vote for the idiot trying to get them killed they are too stupid to vote.

[Gasolinedream]

4. that has to be bogus...

I have seen lots of articles. It is at least 50/50.

[Hello_Kitty]

5. I agree

I think they make it a point to poll at stateside bases among units that have little to no chance of being deployed to Iraq.

[Aunt Anti-bush]

7. shortages of the federal replacement ballots?

SHORTAGES? Did they not know we were going to need them? WTF??? How can there be shortages of federal replacement ballots?

I guess they 'misunderestimated'.