Hmmm, I don't know if I'm right about this . . . I seem to remember that there were some shenanigans going on with military ballots at the USPS in 2000, probably at the behest of Bubba himself. Ballots were held up or delayed in some way until the US military took it upon itself to return the ballots to the continental US via military transport . . . 'Course, once here the 'rats at the USPS probably continued their treason . . . Heavens, am I remembering that correctly?
So far, I've struck nothing. The USPS website was of no use whatsoever - thank you, bloated federal bureaucracy.
All I want is a state-by-state account of what each states' laws are regarding how these ballots are shipped. I'll keep trying...
Thanks for the links, BTW. I almost forgot how bloody it got in 2000.
By Jon E. Dougherty
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
Forty-one Republican House members have sponsored a bill that would force Florida to count all military absentee ballots received during the 2000 presidential race.
Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas, has signed on to the "Armed Services Vote Rescue Act," H.R. 5642, sponsored by Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., which is designed to "strengthen the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Absentees Voting Act by providing that all ballots cast by those in the U.S. military stationed overseas shall count, if there is no evidence of fraud."
Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas
Lack of witness signature, postmark or questions about how the ballot was requested would not be grounds for disqualification, Combest said.
"The men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our nation should have their votes counted -- it is a constitutional right," said the Texas congressman. "This bill sends a clear signal to election officials that votes cast by military personnel are equal in the eyes of the law and should be counted just as any other vote would."
At issue are many and perhaps thousands of otherwise "legally cast" military absentee ballots that were not counted by some Florida counties because they lacked dates or postmarks.
Combest and other lawmakers have pointed out, however, that some ballots cast by overseas military personnel are sent through duty stations that have no postmark machines and, therefore, no way to date the ballots.
Yet, federal write-in and other absentee ballots require that service members sign and date the actual ballots -- signatures that must be affirmed by a witness.
According to Combest, instructions were not provided to tell voters to date the ballots. Other ballots were erroneously postmarked after arriving in the U.S.
"Al Gore keeps saying that he wants to make sure that 'every vote is counted,'" said the congressman. "Yet over 1,400 military votes have been thrown out.
"Only one group, overseas military personnel, had an organized and systematic campaign, including an extensive five-page memo distributed by Democrat political operatives, to disqualify their votes," said Combest, referring to Tallahassee lawyer Mark Herron's memo sent to all 67 Florida counties instructing local canvassing boards how to legally toss military ballots -- said by most analysts to likely have favored George W. Bush.
"This is an outrage, not only to servicemen and servicewomen, but also to all Americans," he added. "If Florida election officials will not count legitimate ballots sent in good faith, then Congress will force them to do so."
The importance of the bill in the Florida vote is that it is retroactive and hence would force the state to count all absentee ballots that were cast devoid of fraud or evidence of tampering.
Combest said legal experts at the Congressional Research Service and the House Legislative Counsel have concluded that this retroactive application is clearly constitutional.
But critics of the measure say such a law would constitute a violation of Article 1, Sect. 9 of the Constitution because it would become an ex post facto law.
Nevertheless, Combest said five of the top veterans groups also support the bill, including the Air Force Sergeants Association and the Navy League of the United States.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15630