Overseas absentee votes double 2004 totals

[unhappycamper]

Overseas absentee votes double 2004 totals
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Nov 10, 2008 17:59:43 EST

The Military Postal Service Agency returned 519,032 overseas absentee ballots to local election offices as of Nov. 4, more than 2½ times the total of 203,233 returned in the 2004 election, officials said.

MPSA reported that 415,428 absentee ballots went by mail to APO and FPO addresses between Sept. 8 and Nov. 4 of this year, said Shari Lawrence, Army Human Resources Command spokeswoman, more than twice the total of 205,418 sent out in the same time period in 2004.

Some people were able to get ballots electronically, depending on the state. That’s why nearly 105,000 more ballots were received by local election officials this year than were mailed through the military postal system to APO/FPO addresses.

Also, an estimated 10,000 overseas voters sent ballots by FedEx under a partnership with the Overseas Vote Foundation and the express shipper, which offered free or discounted delivery of ballots from 89 countries.

No problems were reported with the mail aspect of the voting process through Nov. 4 by either MPSA or the Federal Voting Assistance Program, said Yvonne Yoerger, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_absenteevotes_111008w/%2e