Parties Allowed to Contact Absentee Voters

[Andy_Stephenson]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Like fishing in a stocked pond instead of an ocean, politicians are trying to catch votes by targeting phone calls and fliers at voters who have already applied for absentee ballots.

Under laws well known to political strategists but perhaps not to the public, candidates in some states can ask local election officials for lists of people who have requested absentee ballots — and then campaign directly to them.

The tactic could make a critical difference in this tight election year, especially given the fact that absentee voters are highly likely to cast their ballots. The strategy is playing out in several swing states that could decide the presidential election, including Ohio and Missouri.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1963&e=14&u=/ap/20041021/ap_on_el_pr/absentee_voters

[Aiptasia]

1. That's no surprise

Both parties do this every year. I got all kinds of phone calls during the last national election when I voted absentee. I was going overseas during that week for business and had to vote early before I left.

I know for a fact that both parties have been aggressively targeting overseas voters. I think it was either CBS news or CNN that ran a few stories about this, saying that legal U.S. citizens living overseas (or those with dual citizenship) were registering to vote in record numbers, some which haven't voted for over 40 years in a U.S. national election.

This election, unless it's an absolute landslide one way or another, is also going to be decided in the courts. Keep an eye on Florida and Colorado Nov. 3rd court cases.

Maybe the F.E.C. will finally get off it's ass and create some national standards for federal elections to put an end to this horse-crap. National elections should require a standardized national voting system with paper trail backup. This state by state ambiguity makes me nuts.