The source of this article is the Daytona Beach News-Journal: http://tinyurl.com/4gxbb

Casting ballot a priority for troops 

By SANDRA FREDERICK 
Staff Writer 

Last update: October 27, 2004 


DAYTONA BEACH -- For military men like 1st Lt. James Mosley, the centuries-old tradition of soldiers casting a vote for their commander in chief is important.

To Mosley, it's a priority.

The Orlando father of one already had his ballot signed, sealed and delivered to the Elections Department. He deploys today with the Army Reserve 559th Transportation Detachment Unit out of Daytona Beach for training in Georgia and then, most likely, on to Iraq.

"This election is just not about the president. It is about our state representatives, a voice in Congress and especially this year, initiatives for the state," the 30-year-old soldier said.

The Pentagon and its military leaders -- in the midst of the largest troop deployment during a presidential election since the Vietnam War -- are taking the votes of soldiers seriously, too, with some extra steps after the controversy over the 2000 presidential vote.

Before troop deployments to Iraq this year, officials say they educated soldiers on how to vote in November's election and are taking steps to ensure the votes are counted.

"We assigned voting officers to talk with the soldiers about voting and getting absentee ballots before they left," said Capt. Doug Huber, of the 2-8 Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. His troops were deployed to Camp Cuervo in Baghdad in March.

"We looked ahead to see what we would be missing (while we were over there) and we identified the election as something we needed to help the soldiers look at and plan for before they left," Huber said in a telephone interview.

In Volusia County, about 2,000 overseas absentee ballots and another 105 in Flagler County -- both military and civilian -- have been sent, elections officials said.

Steps the Defense Department took in recent months included encouragement to troops and their families by Richard Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who sent a memo urging military personnel to vote no matter where they were stationed.

In addition to choosing the president, the election will determine the seats of 34 U.S. senators, all challenged seats in the House of Representatives and 13 governors.

But the Pentagon misfired in one attempt at military-voting improvements. An Internet voting plan was criticized by computer experts who said it could be tampered with. It was dismissed by voting-rights advocates who said online voting would strip soldiers of their right to vote in secret.

However, the Pentagon agreed with elections officials in 23 states to accept ballots by fax. Missouri and North Dakota will accept ballots via a new Defense Department e-mail system.

Florida accepts faxed ballots, but only from citizens -- military and civilian -- currently overseas, said Lana Hires, of the Volusia County elections division responsible for sending out absentee ballots.

Hires said her office will e-mail ballots to residents overseas, but they can only be returned by fax or traditional mail.

While the military does not keep voter registration figures, a poll conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center showed more than 90 percent of the 3.6 million people in active duty and the reserves said they would vote in the general election.

It is the first time since the Vietnam War that a presidential election is being held with this many troops in the field. There are about 135,000 in Iraq alone.

Huber said the military strongly promotes supporting the position of the president, but does not tell the troops who to vote for. "We are apolitical and believe it or not, we don't talk much about politics. It is a personal matter."

Joseph Benedetto, a former Air Force officer living in Saudi Arabia training members of the Royal Air Force, said he views his voting right as an obligation.

"I have voted by absentee ballot since I was 18 years old" and stationed in Germany, he said in an e-mail dispatched from Saudi Arabia. "It's a bit more difficult to vote by absentee ballot, but the desire to make my voice heard is even stronger, even more so, considering the events that unfolded after the 2000 election."

He said in Saudi Arabia, a theocratic monarchy, voting takes on a special significance.

"Most Saudis that I have contact with are extremely interested in the United States election," Benedetto said. "Ironically enough, for a country that is devoid of both political and religious freedoms, this is one of two subjects that Saudis most often discuss with their American counterparts."

Regardless of how things turn out, most Saudis believe the U.S. election could affect their lives in one way or another, he added.

And, for the first time from their far-off posts, the men and women sworn to carry out the orders of the commander in chief will offer feedback to their ultimate boss.

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-- Staff Writer Mark I. Johnson and The Washington Post contributed to this report.

Did You Know?

The 2004 presidential election is the first wartime presidential election since the Vietnam War.

· A federal law dating back to 1948 prevents polling active-duty military personnel about which candidate will receive their votes.

· According to the Military Voting Rights Project, only 55-60 percent of the military personnel who submit completed Federal Post Card Applications to election officials end up casting ballots that are counted. Delayed mail often results in applications being denied because they arrive after the state deadline.

-- Compiled by News Researcher Karen Duffy

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