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A Military Times survey of 4,300 readers of its Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Times newspapers indicates U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Republican presidential candidate, enjoys overwhelming support from the military's overall professional core. Broken down by race, however, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, the Democratic presidential contender, receives similarly overwhelming support from career-oriented African-American military members. The newspaper group said the results of its voluntary 2008 election poll "are not representative of the opinions of the miltiary as a whole," but a survey of older, more senior ranking service members who are less ethnically diverse than the...

Hannibal, MO — Stephen Webber knows the last thing on the mind of a combat soldier is punching a ballot. But Missouri is making it easier for Webber’s comrades who are still in battle zones to voice their political choices. The Marine reservist joined Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and Marion County Clerk Bob Ravenscraft in Hannibal on Friday to highlight the options. Technology allows military personnel voting options that were unimagined in past wars. “The important thing is to get the word out,” Carnahan said. “With the election coming up, it’s important that folks who are serving in...

American soldiers can hump 60-pound packs through the broiling desert, kill for their country and die for it, but they can't always vote for their commander in chief. A solution has long been proposed: Just get rid of the Byzantine process which forces those in far-flung battle zones to vote by mail that must be delivered to thousands of local election districts across the United States. Advertisement But the Pentagon has found that bringing military voting into the 21st century is not so simple. The number of absentee military ballots applied for that ultimately get counted is consistently low. In...

Michelle Obama told a crowd of military families near the Marine Corps' massive base at Camp Lejeune on Tuesday there is "only one candidate" for president who will work to give them the services and care they need. "When I look at the two candidates and their plans for America ... and when I think about the military families I've met across the country and the kind of help that they could use right now - not in four years or eight years but right now - then the choice is clear," the wife of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama...

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Presidential Campaigns Join Overseas and Military Voter Outreach Effort Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) is fielding record levels of online activity from overseas and military voters and views this as a key indicator of potentially unprecedented high levels of voter participation of overseas and military voters in Election 2008. Over 2 million visitors have come to the OVF website, or an OVF hosted website in 2008. The month of September averaged 25,000 visits per day to the combined total of 17 OVF hosted websites. Of the tens of thousands of voters that OVF has helped to register, 26% are first-time voters,...

A Florida -attorney retained by the Democratic Party organized a statewide effort to disqualify as many overseas absentee ballots as possible-including those posted by members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Florida counties subsequently rejected over 1,200 of these ballots for many reasons, including bearing domestic postmarks or no postmarks at all. War veterans in Congress as well as Floridian Medal of Honor recipients have decried this as a "plan and design to disenfranchise the overseas military vote in Florida." The Republican Party has sued county canvassing boards for rejecting many of the ballots, arguing that federal law requires their acceptance....

Sen. John McCain enjoys overwhelming support from the military’s professional core, though race appears to be a decisive factor for career-oriented black service members, a Military Times survey of nearly 4,300 readers indicates. McCain, R-Ariz., handily defeated Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., 68 percent to 23 percent in a voluntary survey of 4,293 active-duty, National Guard and reserve subscribers

While John McCain's recent polling data has been anything but encouraging, the GOP presidential nominee is getting some encouraging news from a bedrock Republican constituency. According to a Military Times survey, "career" military personnel are solidly behind Senator McCain, by an almost three-to-one margin. Among the 4,000 who participated in the poll, 68% said they planned to vote for the Arizona Senator, compared to only 23% for the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama. A breakdown of the survey reveals wide support for Mr. McCain among virtually all segments of the military. The Republican candidate had solid majority among every demographic...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The work day all but over Saturday, Bombardier Hollie Speers did what a lot of Canadians are thinking about these days: she voted in an advance poll. Unlike the average voter, though, Bombardier Speers cast her ballot with an assault rifle slung over her shoulder, at a polling booth deep in Taliban country. She was part of a Herculean effort to ensure that hundreds of Canadian troops in Afghanistan get a chance to exercise their democratic franchise, between firefights and reconstruction projects. So far, the project has been a surprising success. The 75% poll turnout at Bombardier...

Obama Loves Our Servicemen – But Not Their Voting RightsBy Brad O’Leary Many assume that the presidential debates help the public discern where each candidate stands on the issues.  If only this were true.  It is a most unfortunate irony that, much of the time, these made-for-TV sparring matches accomplish little more than to enable a candidate to pull yet another layer of wool over the eyes of John Q. Public.  A case-in-point from last Friday’s showdown is Barack Obama’s professed honor and concern for our men and women in the military.  Me thinks he doth profess too much. “[W]e honor all...

    Military Voter Guide As Election Day nears, we need help registering our military members to vote. Many are already registered, but some are having problems getting information on how to receive their ballots. If you know any military members, please refer them to their Command Liaison, or click on each State for more information.All information provided below is from FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program). If you are currently living abroad and not military, you can also use this website to register to vote and receive an absentee ballot.There are rumors going around online that we want to...

The Veterans In Politics International is in FULL support, to allow ALL active, reservist, and guards man, military service member of all branch of our arm forces including our civilian contractors and attache to our active military to be allowed to participate in ALL elections. Each service member should be able to vote in all local, state, or national elections in their current state of residency, regardless of their current duty station, regardless if we are in peace or war and regardless if they are in the United States or in a foreign land. We should not exclude the very...

PRINCETON, NJ -- With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%. This is based on aggregated data from Aug. 5-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking, involving interviews with more than 11,000 registered voters, including 2,238 military veterans. Veterans are defined as those who are or have been members of the U.S. military. Obama leads McCain 46% to 43% among all registered voters during this time.

While troops deployed abroad might be giving more money to Barack Obama, a poll released today says that John McCain will get the vast majority of votes from members of the military and veterans. According to Gallup, McCain leads Obama 56 percent to 34 percent, with 11 percent expressing no opinion or picking someone else. Obama spoke to the Veterans of Foreign Wars today in Florida, a day after McCain addressed the gathering. Gallup said the poll is based on aggregated data from its daily tracking poll between Aug. 5 and Aug. 17, involving more than 11,000 registered voters, including...

Republicans may not be able to count on the military vote in 2008, according to a report issued by the Center for Responsive Politics, which shows that troops overseas have donated about six times as much to Sen. Barack Obama as to Sen. John McCain. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has raised $60,642 to McCain's $10,665 among this group, said the nonpartisan center, which examined information required by the Federal Election Commission for contributions more than $200....

absentee ballots by email fax ballots live press conference for military voting and more

USA Today, link only http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-14-military-donations_N.htm

During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: two or three hundred dollars -- or whatever they can spare -- towards a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home. According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has...

Michelle Obama shared a stage this afternoon with six hand-picked military spouses in Norfolk as the campaign announced the formation of “Blue Star Families for Obama.” Obama said families of military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan not only are suffering the uncertainty of having loved ones in harm’s way, but also are coping with rising prices and unemployment. She wove details of her husband's plan to support military families into the conversation with the spouses. The wives talked about inadequate child care on bases, education opportunities for children and health care. The event was this afternoon at Old Dominion...

This is from Major General Buckman.(ret)My niece, Katelyn, stationed at Baluud , Iraq , was assigned with others of her unit, to be escorted/guarded/ watched out for Martha Raddatz of ABC News as she covered John McCain's recent trip to Iraq . Katelyn and her Captain stood directly behind Raddatz as she queried GI's walking past.They kept count of the GI's and you should remember these numbers. She asked 60 GI's who they planned to vote for, in November, '08.54 soldier's said John McCain, 4 for Obama and 2 for Hillary.Katelyn called home and told her Mom and Dad to...

According to latest news, only 15.5% of US voters in overseas locations requested a ballot for the 2006 election, and only 1/3 of those voted. Pardon while I laugh. The Army Times Publishing Company has surveyed military members and the military votes Republican at a rate of 69 - 85%. There were 600,000 military personnel stationed overseas in 2006. It seems a safe bet that had the true military vote count been tallied, the Dems would not have squeeked-by with "wins" in MT, VA, and several other states. In other words, the Dems probably took the Senate through disenfranchising the...

The Military Postal Service Agency is preparing measures for this election season that officials say will help absentee ballots move through the military mail system. From Sept. 1 to Nov. 25, the military mail will prioritize absentee ballots, which will be specially marked and tagged, and personnel will be instructed to deal with those parcels first. Postal personnel involved will be briefed and trained soon, according to Faye Johnson, MPSA chief of operations. They will be instructed that "whenever they see trays, tubs or anything with absentee ballots, that is to be expedited." Mail room personnel also will be told...

Prepared text of speech delivered at the 2008 American GI Forum of the United States National Convention in Denver:Thank you for that kind introduction and warm welcome. I want to begin by talking about an issue in this campaign that I know concerns you as it concerns all Americans: the war in Iraq. Thankfully, the news from Iraq today is much more encouraging than I could have reported to you last year. Eighteen months ago, America faced a crisis as profound as any in our history. Iraq was in flames, torn apart by violence that was escaping our control. Al...

My heart was in my throat. Someone say McCain can’t give a good speech? Well, the live speech he just gave at the American GI Forum in Denver was something that really moved me, and I believe it would any true American. Especially the story of Benavidez, whom honestly I knew nothing about. I was watching on FOX News, cable. Prior to McCain describing us the story of Benavidez (and I’m sorry and ashamed, I am so ignorant of him that I do not even know if I am spelling his name correctly, and yet such an American hero should...

McCain is going after Obama on funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Live on Foxnews Give em hell! The more I hear McCain speak the more I'm liking...

Voters who have served in the U.S. military favor John McCain over Barack Obama by a 56% to 37% margin. This data, from a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, is based upon interviews with 3,000 Likely Voters, including 588 voters who have served in the military. Voters with no military service favor Obama 50% to 43%. The survey was conducted July 21-23 while Obama was on an overseas tour that included Afghanistan and Iraq. Overall, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed Obama leading 48% to 45% (with leaners) over those three days.

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that John McCain will speak at the 2008 American GI Forum of the United States National Convention on Friday, July 25th in Denver, Colorado.

Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low 5.5 percent. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low...

That’s how it appears: A coalition of military groups is planning a nationally televised town-hall-style meeting with the presidential candidates near Fort Hood, Tex., the largest active-duty military installation in the country. But so far, only Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has agreed to attend.CBS has agreed to broadcast the meeting live from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, Aug. 11. The candidates would face questions directly from an audience of 6,000 people, made up of veterans, service members and military families from the base.Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has...

John McCain has accepted an invitation to appear at a nationally-televised town hall meeting next month organized by a coalition of support organizations. Despite pleas from the group, Barack Obama has refused to appear at the same event, underscoring his desire to avoid extemporaneous exchanges with John McCain, especially on military matters in which he has no experience at all. The Fort Hood group has offered to change dates, but Obama remains obstinate: “Senator Obama strongly supports America’s veterans and military families and has worked hard on their behalf in the Senate,” said Phillip Carter, director of Mr. Obama’s veterans...

A coalition of military groups is planning a nationally televised town-hall-style meeting with the presidential candidates near Fort Hood, Tex., the largest active-duty military installation in the country. But so far, only Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has agreed to attend. CBS has agreed to broadcast the meeting live from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, Aug. 11. The candidates would face questions directly from an audience of 6,000 people, made up of veterans, service members and military families from the base. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has not agreed...

Since the start of the presidential campaign in the USA, greatest differences between the Republicans and the Democrats could be seen in their views towards war in Iraq. The primaries are over and John McCain and Barack Obama remain as the pivotal rivals, one of which will head the country in the next four years. Republican John McCain is a famous Vietnam War veteran and has been an eager supporter of war in Iraq even before the US Army invaded the country. On the other hand, Democrat Barack Obama opposes war, he has done so from the very start and...

Democratic presidential presumptive Sen. Barack Obama (IL) met with his terrorist supporting fundraiser, Jodie Evans, at a $5 million Hollywood fundraiser held last week at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion on Tuesday, June 24.In what can only be described as a big middle finger to the veterans and military families who have urged Obama to renounce Evans, Obama met with Evans and was photographed with her at the fundraiser.Evans is co-founder of the leftist anti-American group Code Pink. She and Code Pink have endorsed the terrorists in Iraq and have sent over $600,000 in cash and humanitarian aid to "the other...

In a 2007 report by the Election Assistance Commission, less than 50 percent of the nearly one million absentee ballots submitted by military voters were actually counted in the 2006 elections. Ten percent of these were not counted because they were received too late by the servicemembers' state election officials. I don't think you need me to explain the irony inherent in the disenfranchisement of the men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives in defense of the U.S. Constitution. Approximately half a million servicemembers are stationed or deployed overseas today and their electoral participation is increasing. In...

WASHINGTON: The highest-ranking U.S. military officer has written an unusual open letter to all those in uniform, warning them to stay out of politics as the United States approaches a presidential election in which the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be a central, and certainly divisive, issue. "The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times," wrote Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway." (snip) Mullen said he was inspired to write the essay after receiving a constant...

Mullen said he was inspired to write the essay after receiving a constant stream of legitimate, if troubling, questions while visiting U.S. military personnel around the world, including, "What if a Democrat wins?" and, "What will that do to the mission in Iraq?" "I am not suggesting that military professionals abandon all personal opinions about modern social or political issues," Mullen wrote. "What I am suggesting - indeed, what the nation expects - is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in cockpit or...

ARLINGTON, Va. — According to newly released FEC reports, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has received more military donations than the other three remaining Republican candidates combined. "The latest numbers make it clear: the troops support Ron Paul," said Ron Paul campaign chairman Kent Snyder. "Dr. Paul has worked his entire career working for veterans, and has many awards and endorsements due to his dedication to their cause." A search of the FEC database by employer reveals that Dr. Paul has received 1160 donations from military donors, nearly triple that of John McCain, and more than McCain, Mitt Romney, and...

On a couple of other boards, I have heard the allegation that "Ron Paul is the Military's Candidate." I always figured it to be your typical overblown hyperbole... So I decided to research the numbers, in order to blow away the conspiracy theory. There's no way that he could be the leading candidate for military contributors...right? Well, I went to the FEC Contributions Database that is maintained by opensecrets.org...the numbers I came up with were both surprising and very, very disturbing. First of all, the methodology: I did individual contributor searches for a number of different employer types: "Army," "US...

As we roll into November, every American needs to be reminded of how the Democrats treat the military.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2008 --- For the Federal Voting Assistance Program, getting deployed troops and their families engaged in the current election season is a primary goal. Ahead of the November general election, FVAP, which fosters voting participation by uniformed and U.S. citizens abroad, is assisting eligible absentee voters who wish to cast ballots in their states’ primary election. “It’s important that voters participate in the upcoming primary elections,” said Polli Brunelli, the program's chief. “We have over 20 primaries occurring in February, so now is the time, if you’ve received your ballot, to vote and get it back...

Republican Ron Paul is out with a new TV ad, set to run in New Hampshire through Tuesday's primary, stressing his military credentials. Patriotic music booms. Soldiers salute. The announcer begins: "A proud military veteran who served our nation. Ron Paul salutes and supports our troops who protect and defend our freedom." A flag waves. The announcer continues, "But who do the troops support? Ron Paul. The record shows they're standing up for him." The ad concludes: "Ron Paul is their choice for commander-in-chief." His campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said Paul "has long been a praised as staunch advocate for...

DES MOINES, Iowa: Jason Huffman has lived in Iowa his whole life. Lately he has been watching presidential debates on the Internet and discussing what he sees with friends and relatives. But when fellow Iowans choose their presidential nominees Thursday night, he will not be able to vote, because he is serving with the Iowa National Guard in western Afghanistan. "Shouldn't we at least have as much influence in this as any other citizen?" Huffman wrote in an e-mail message. He is far from the only Iowan who will be unable to participate. Because the caucuses, held in the early...

FredHeads are everywhere…including serving our country near Basra in Iraq. Click here to see the pics.

Last Tuesday, 6 November, 2007, was Election Day here in Philadelphia. On an average Election Day there are between 100 and 150 absentee ballots from active duty service members. This election there were 8. Maybe only 8 men and women voted. Maybe this is much ado about nothing, but it does seem suspicious. Special Forces officer David Oh was on the ballot for a City Council At-Large seat. It is a close election. Votes are still being tallied. Currently only about a dozen votes separate him and his challenger. We are actively soliciting anyone from Philadelphia, PA who has a...

Many active duty military are praising Fred Thompson, as the conservative leader they want as the next Commander in Chief. Typical of these comments is this one from a soldier in Ohio: "As a soldier, I know there is some pressure to not get involved in anything political, but as a current member of the finest Army to have ever existed, and a Combat Veteran of the crucial Iraq campaign, I feel it is my duty as a patriotic American to see a good conservative succeed our current commander and chief. Every Soldier wants a leader that they can proudly...

As Clinton demonstrated during her pentathlon of Sunday talk shows, she is an effective Q-and-A advocate for her new health-care plan. And that probably guarantees her the Democratic nomination. But Clinton is ahead of the Republican hopefuls, although not by much - just three points or so - against the leading Republican, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. And that's a surprisingly narrow margin, given the anti-Republican mood of the country; the best overall metrics of public opinion are President Bush's job-approval ratings and the right track/wrong track question - and both are 2-1 negative. In such a situation,...

Military shifting donations to Democrats As the Iraq war drags on and US casualties mount, members of the military appear to be showing their discontent by donating more to Democrats, a campaign finance watchdog group said today. Service members have traditionally supported the Republican Party, but there has been a dramatic shift since the war started in 2003 away from financial backing for GOP candidates for president and Congress, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics said. So far this year and in the 2004 election, about 40 percent of contributions from donors identifiable as military members has gone to Democrats,...